Hell's Peak
by wildlightning
Summary: Summary: A different ending to Showdown where Danny and Martin get kidnapped by Dornvald. Will Danny and Martin survive the torturous hell that Dornvald puts them through or will they die a horrible death? Please R and R if I should continue.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: A huge thanks to fans1024. If it weren't for her betaing or encouragement I never would have been able to write this fic.

Summary: A different ending to Showdown where the boys get kidnapped by Dornvald. Will Danny and Martin survive the torturous hell that Dornvald puts them through or will they die a horrible death?

Disclaimer: As much as I love the show I do not own any part of it or the characters so please don't sue me.

**Hell's Peak**

**Chapter 1**

Danny and Martin leave the FBI Headquarters with Adisa Teno in tow. What they don't know is that Dornvald has been watching their every move. From the moment they captured Adisa in the warehouse and when they took Paige Hobson into custody he's been planning his revenge and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Danny leant back and closed his eyes, what had seemed like a never ending case was finally over. The shrill of his cell phone pulled him out of his deep thoughts.

"Taylor," Danny said as he answered the phone. He smiled as Jack gave him the news that he was waiting and hoping for. He thanked Jack and ended the call.

"Hey, Viv's okay," Danny said, as he gave Martin the good news.

"Oh that's great man," Martin replied. He was so caught up in his thoughts about Viv that he barely noticed the blue van that pulled up in front of him. He turned his attention back to the road. He frowned as the lights turned green and van didn't move. He waited a few moments before he honked the horn in frustration. "Come on, man, lets go. It's a green light," Martin said. But as soon as he said those words the back doors of the van flew open and all hell broke loose.

Martin chucked the car in reverse as he tried to get away from the hail of bullets flying towards them. But the bullets keep on coming. He tried to the control the car as it span wildly out of control as one of the bullets blew out one of the tires. Martin was helpless as the car crashed into several parked cars – the impact temporarily knocking them out.

Adisa takes advantage of Martin and Danny's lack of consciousness and tries to flee but he fails miserably. Because his hands are handcuffed, he falls to the ground as he tries to run. He tries to get up but only makes it to his knees; as Dornvald walks calmly toward him with the gun aimed at his head. Adisa knows that this is the end so instead of begging for his life like a coward he stands on his knees and looks at Dornvald defiantly. Dornvald walks up to him smiling evilly and shoots him dead.

Martin shook his head – temporarily dazed from the impact. He looked around – what the hell had just happened? The images come thick and fast – Dornvald, Teno, and gunfire. He quickly and quietly as possible gets out the car. He unholstered his gun and he started shooting at Dornvald and his assassins. But his gun jammed – where the hell was Danny? Where the hell was their backup, Martin thought? Dornvald and his assassins quickly surround Martin and Danny with their automatic weapons.

"You never should've gotten involved in my business. Now you're going to pay for you intrusions with your lives," Dornvald said with an evil smile.

Martin felt a searing pain on his arm as Dornvald grabbed him and tried not to cry out. "You won't get away with this," Martin yelled as he tried not to show fear or pain – he knew Dornvald would see this as a weakness and he didn't want Dornvald to have anything on him.

Dornvald aimed his gun at Martin; he signaled to his assassins go to the car and capture Danny. When they get to the car, they find Danny sitting in the front passenger seat covered in blood and barely breathing.

"Hey boss, I think this pig's dead. He's bleeding all over the place," one of Dornvald goons laughed.

"Danny? Danny Nooooooo!" Martin screamed as he tried to run towards Danny. He hadn't realized that Danny had been hit – but he had to help him. He cried out when a sharp pain shot through his tender skull; he needed to help Danny but he couldn't. It's all my fault - were his last thoughts before he slipped into the welcomed darkness.

Dornvald looked around – this was taking too long. With the amount gun fire he knew the cops would be here in a few minutes. He raised his gun and brought it down on Martin's head, chuckling as Martin fell to the ground – unconscious. He went around to the other side of the car were his goons were standing over the dying agent. He grabbed the dying agent by the hair and laughed when he cried out weakly.

"Get him in the van and his partner too. He's not dead yet but when I'm done with him he's gonna wish he was. Now the FBI is gonna learn that when you mess with Emil Dornvald, you pay the ultimate price," Dornvald said as he began to issue orders.

Although Martin is knocked out cold and Danny is barely alive, he wasn't going to take any chances - so he gags, blindfolds, and even ties their hands behind their backs. He orders his goons to toss them brutally into the back of his van. The van speeds off; leaving the FBI their car covered in their agents' blood and the body of Adisa Teno dead in the street like a rabid dog.

Jack arrived at the scene and found himself panicking when he is met with a scene of chaos - cops everywhere, paramedics and Martin's bullet ridden car covered in blood. He started to look wildly around for his agents but all he can see is the paramedics loading a body bag into the back of the ambulance and his face turns ghostly white – where are Danny and Martin? He raced over and stopped the paramedics. He closed his eyes and took a breath as he pulled down the bag's zipper; he didn't know what he was going to do if one his agents were dead. He couldn't even handle the thought of one of his agents being dead. He forced himself to open his eyes and look at the body. He gasped in horror at the body but then sighed in relief - the body is that of Adisa Teno not his agents.

Jack continued to look wildly around for his agents – but he still couldn't see them. He found himself running to Martin's abandoned car – feeling sick with fear when he found it covered in blood.

"Where are the two agents that were transporting Teno?" Jack demanded. He glared at one of the agents collecting evidence when they didn't reply. Out of fear and frustration he grabbed one of the agents and shook him. "Where the hell are they?" he yelled.

"I'm sorry…but…" the agent stammered – fear evident in his voice.

"But what! Where the hell are they? Tell me now!" Jack yelled as he slammed the agent against the car.

"I-I'm sorry b-but there was no one around when we arrived. We only found Teno's body. Agents Taylor and Fitzgerald were nowhere to be found. The front seats w-were… c-covered…in b-blood," the agent stammered.

Jack let his hands slip from the agent's throat. He knew who had done this and he knew what would happen to that person once he had found them. "Dornvald! It had to be!" he cursed.

"Oh my God, Jack! What happened?" Sam said nervously as she arrived on the scene.

"That son of a bitch - Dornvald! He ambushed Danny and Martin and then killed Adisa Teno," Jack yelled. Dornvald was going to wish he was dead once he got his hands on him – no one, but no one hurt his team and got away with it

"What do you want me to do?" Sam stammered as the shock set in.

"I need you to put out an alert at all the train stations and airports," Jack said trying to stay calm but fear and anger was still evident in his voice.

"I-I'll p-put out stop notices and I-I'll make sure all TV Stations have his p-picture," Sam stammered.

"Okay, do a background check on Dornvald; find out all the information you can on this goddamn bastard. You also need to get Paige Hobson into FBI custody. She could be a possible target," Jack ordered. He watched Sam nod; he took a breath before he stormed off.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It does get better. Please R and R if I should continue it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**4 HOURS MISSING…**

Martin slowly begins to regain consciousness. He moves his head ever so slightly and groans in pain; it is as if someone has taken a jackhammer to his head. Confusion and fear set in – where is he? The last thing he remembers was Dornvald hitting him over the head when he tried to help Danny. Fear grips him as he remembers Dornvald's men saying that Danny was probably dead because he was bleeding everywhere. "Danny!" Martin called out. He groans in pain as he moves his head and searches for Danny. "Danny, where are you!"

Suddenly, the lights in the room turn on and blind Martin momentarily. He squints in pain-it feels as though his eyes are being penetrated by hundreds of sharp knives.

Dornvald storms in and throws a bucket of ice cold water over Martin; he bites back a laugh as he watches Martin gasping and coughing as he tries to escape its bitter chill.

"Wake up you useless, fuckin' pig!" he yelled. He feels his blood boil when Martin ignores him. Balling his hand into a fist, he punches him in the face.

"You son of a bitch!" Martin groaned and spat up a little blood. He refuses to let Dornvald have the satisfaction of hearing him scream. He refuses to let Dornvald see how weak he is. "What the hell do you want!" Martin yelled, biting back tears as Dornvald punches him in the face again.

"You know what I want - I want Paige Hobson," Dornvald said in a cold and calm voice.

"That's never gonna happen. She's already gone," Martin replied confidently.

"You will tell me where she is," Dornvald demands.

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you a goddamn thing?" Martin laughed – despite the situation.

"Because if you don't…" Dornvald said with an evil smile. He grabs Martin by the hair and forces him to look at him. "If you don't your partner dies! You choose…the girl…or your partner," he yelled.

"If you touch one hair on his body I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!" Martin yelled; his eyes wild with fright and rage. He felt his blood boil when Dornvald simply laughed at his threat.

**8 HOURS MISSING…**

Jack holds his head in his hands – his agents have been missing for eight hours. They haven't received a ransom demand and it was becoming increasingly unlikely that they would find Danny and Martin alive.

"Have you got anything yet?" he asked, exhaustion evident in his voice.

"No, I can't find anything," Sam said shaking her head.

The moment Sam said that, Jeff, an agent, walks up to them with the DNA reports of the blood found inside the car.

"Jack…" Jeff started in a shaky voice.

"What is it? Are those the results of the blood found in the car?" Jack asked nervously.

"Yeah…I'm really sorry, Jack…but the DNA results came back positive," Jeff said sadly.

"What!" Jack yelled; fear and anger laced into his voice. He rips the report right out of Jeff's hands and begins going over it.

"The blood in the car…is a." Jeff sighed deeply. "The blood is a positive match for Martin and Danny's blood and with the amount of blood…." He trailed off - unable to continue.

Jack runs a hand over his weary face as he tries to hold it together but tears escape his eyes and stream down his face. "Alright," he said clearing his throat. "We need to find Dornvald. If Martin and Danny are hurt we don't have much time. I want every available agent working on this." He watches in vague disbelief as everyone stands around staring at him. "Let's move!" he yelled.

**12 HOURS MISSING…**

Dornvald punches Martin in the face – whose face is already starting to swell up and is covered in blood.

"Where is Paige Hobson!" Dornvald yelled.

"I told you she's gone! You're never gonna get her!" Martin yelled spitting up blood.

Dornvald steps forward and gestures to one of his goons. He smiles evilly at Martin. "I guess you want to do things the hard way," he said as he throws a bucket of ice cold water over Martin. "Where is the girl?" he yelled. He glares at Martin when he chooses to ignore him. "Give me the cables," he yelled at his goons.

Martin can't help as his eyes go wild with fright as he sees the sparks from the jumper cables coming straight at him. He struggles to get free – but his hands are bound to the back of the chair. "No! You fuckin' bastard!" Martin screamed. He feels a cold sweat run down his face as Dornvald continues to approach him.

Dornvald grins evilly at Martin's fear; he places the jumper cables onto Martin's wet, bare chest.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!" Martin screamed.

"Tell me what I want to know and this will all end right now," Dornvald yelled, as he took the cables away for a few seconds.

"Go to hell!" Martin gasped in pain.

Dornvald laughs as Martin screams in pain when he shocks him again. "So you think you can handle the pain. We'll see about that," he growled. As soon as he says that, Dornvald lights up a cigar and burns Martin repeatedly across the torso, stomach and arms; Martin screams and gasps in agony from the unbearable pain. Dornvald gets angry as Martin continues to defy him despite the ongoing torture; anybody else would have already sung like a canary and told him what he wanted to know.

"I guess you need a little motivation to get you to talk. Bring him in," Dornvald said evilly. He orders his goons to bring in Danny. He laughs as his goons drag Danny by his arms and savagely throw him on the ground.

Martin's eyes go wild with fright as he sees Danny's body on the floor covered in dark red blood. "Danny! Danny answer me! Come on, man," Martin cried out; his voice breaking with emotion.

"Mar…tin?" Danny tried weakly.

"I'm here, brother," Martin said as he tried to hide the fear and emotion from his voice. "Don't worry, man, you're gonna be okay."

Dornvald delivers a kick to Danny's ribs, causing him to gasp and cry out in pain. He smirks and waits for Martin's reaction. He hoped that Jack Malone would know how much he was enjoying this.

"Danny, nooo," Martin screamed. "You son of a bitch! I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!" he added yelling at Dornvald.

Dornvald and his men grab Danny and viciously throw him onto a table that's in the room.

"I told you it was either him or the girl. You chose the girl; now he's going to die. But first we're gonna have some fun," Dornvald growled. He shoots Martin an evil smirk before he rips off Danny's shirt. Discovering the gunshot wounds to Danny's shoulder and stomach, he jabs his fingers into Danny's wounds and then afterwards pours salt into them.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!" Danny screamed. He gasps as tears stream down his face. A welcoming darkness surrounds him; he doesn't fight it but instead allows it to engulf him.

"Daneeeee! Leave him alone! I'll tell you what you want; just…just leave him alone!" Martin screamed, as hot tears stream down his beaten and blood soaked face.

Dornvald smiles evilly at Martin and orders his goons to throw Danny to the floor. He then unbinds Martin's hands from his back and throws Martin to the floor.

Martin crawls toward Danny's unconscious body. "Danny! Danny, come on, bro!" he called out; his voice breaking with emotion. "Don't you die on me." He grabs a hold of Danny's body and holds him protectively against his chest. "Just keep fighting, Danny. You're gonna be okay," Martin cried as he puts his head on Danny's and begins to cry as he rocks back and forth.

"Aww now isn't this sweet; the two lovebirds holding each other," Dornvald said sarcastically, laughing as his goons laugh with him. He grabs a camera. "Say cheese, lovebirds," he laughs as he takes a picture of Martin and Danny beaten and covered in blood - Martin holding on to Danny's unconscious body.

**16 HOURS MISSING… **

Jack is sitting at his desk with his head in his hands when there is a knock at the door.

"Come in!" he said gruffly.

"Umm…Jack…this package just arrived for you," Jeff started nervously, holding a package in his hands.

Jack quickly rushes over to Jeff and takes the package from him. He carefully opens the package and begins to cautiously inspect the contents; finding them to be a videotape and a picture.

"Oh my God! Who the hell brought this here!" Jack blurted out, as his eyes widen in horror as the shocking image of Martin holding on to Danny's body appears on the picture. He feels as though all of the air has been sucked out of his lungs as he sees that both of his agents are completely covered in blood.

"It was delivered by a courier service. What's wrong, Jack? What is it?" Jeff replied nervously. He had to know what was happening but in all honesty he didn't want to know judging by his friend's reaction.

Jack ignores his query and quickly proceeds to put the tape into the VCR. To Jack's disgust, it is Dornvald who is on the tape.

"**_Jack Malone. By now, I'm sure that if you're watching this video, you've seen the wonderful picture of your agents bloodied and beaten. That is just a small taste of what will happen to them if my demands are not met. You have eight hours to give me $100 million and Paige Hobson. If you don't, your agents will pay for their intrusions and yours with their lives. You never should have meddled in my affairs; now your agents will pay the price," Dornvald said with a sadist smile. He looks at his watch and taps it. "Tick-tock. Time is running out. I'll contact you with further instructions on where to make the drop. If you try anything-if you try to track or even capture me I won't hesitate to kill your agents."_**

"When I get my fuckin hands on him, I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch, slowly, and he's gonna regret the day he ever messed with my agents! Nobody fucks with my team! Nobody!" Jack screamed.

"What do you want me do, Jack? Whatever you need - even if I have to make it look like an accident. We gotta get that fuckin' bastard. We gotta find Danny and Martin," Jeff said in a cold tone – ready do anything he could to help his friend.

"You can bet your ass that we're gonna get that bastard. Come with me," Jack yelled. He didn't care what people thought. He didn't care about his job – he just wanted his agents back – alive. He storms into the bullpen. "Alright, listen up! We just received a ransom video from Dornvald. He has Danny and Martin – by the look of things they do not have much time left! He said that we have eight hours to give him Paige Hobson and $100 million dollars or he's going to kill them." He paused briefly as he watched everyone's reactions. "He's not getting shit! We can find them but I'm gonna need everyone's help here," he continued. Watching everyone nod in agreement he began to issue orders.

"Sam?" Jack called.

"Yeah, Jack?" Sam replied anxiously – barely able to contain her emotions.

"Sam, I want you to track down the courier who brought the package and find out who sent it in. I want you to find out everything you can: name, description, when they sent it in. You know the drill. Go!" Jack ordered softly. He takes a deep breath as he tries to get a grip on his emotions.

"O-Okay, you got it, Jack," Sam stammered, as she quickly left the office.

"Jeff?" Jack called.

"Yeah, Jack. What do you want me to do?" Jeff replied.

"I want you check the envelope, the picture and the tape. See if you can lift any prints. If you get any prints run it through all the criminal databases; see if we get any hits. Got it?" Jack ordered.

"Yeah, Jack," Jeff replied quickly. He watches with concern as his friend sighs and runs his hands roughly through his hair. He puts a hand on Jack's shoulder. "We're gonna find them, Jack. I promise you that and when we do, Dornvald and anybody else who's working with him is gonna pay the ultimate price. They're gonna regret the day they ever messed with two of our best agents. I swear to you, Jack," he reassured.

Jack hates to be touched but at a time like this he is certainly glad that he has the support of his agents; especially a great agent and friend like Jeff Carmichael who he's known for 10 years now. He nods and finds a small smile for Jeff.

A huge thanks to fans1024. Also, a huge thanks to all of you who have R and R'd so far. Thanks for your support. Let me know if I should continue this fic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**20 HOURS MISSING…**

_**FBI Headquarters**_

Jack held his head in his hands - Samantha had called him on her way back from the courier service and told him that she had video surveillance that clearly showed Dornvald's accomplice. The man from the courier service had positively identified the man in the video as the person who brought in the video and the photograph to be delivered. He had also told Sam that he saw a picture of two men badly beaten and covered in blood but was too afraid to call the police because the guy threatened to kill him if he did.

Deputy Director Victor Fitzgerald strides into Jack's office and shakes Jack's hand. "Have you got anything yet?" he asked in a cold and calm tone as if he's not worried about Martin.

"Yeah, Dornvald sent a ransom video and a picture of Martin and Danny covered in blood. He's asking for Paige Hobson and $100 million or he's going to kill them," Jack replies, as he hands Victor the picture.

Victor's eyes widen in horror, at the reality that Martin is badly hurt and possibly dying. "Mother of God!" he gasps as the news hits him hard. His hands begin to shake; puts a hand over his mouth. "Martin! My poor son!" He begins to cry and angrily wipes the tears away – because he's a Fitzgerald and Fitzgeralds don't cry. A sudden wave of dizziness hits him and he begins to fall to the floor.

Jack sees Victor about to collapse on the floor and reaches for him. Lucky for Victor, Jack gets to him on time. He wraps an arm around Victor's waist and the other over his own shoulder then slowly leads the older man to his couch.

"Victor, are you all right?" Jack asks his voice laced with concern. He frowns when Victor doesn't respond, but just sits there with his head in his hands. "Victor, look at me!" Jack says roughly as he tries to get a response. He gets no response so he grabs Victor by his shoulders and shakes him roughly. "I said look at me!" he yelled. He watches as Victor slowly lifts his head and looks at him with haunted eyes; red and rimmed with tears.

"You have to find him, Jack. I know that we haven't always gotten along but please, you have to find Martin. I can't lose my son, Jack" Victor said, breathing deeply as he tries to regain his composure; but fear is still evident in his voice. Sighing, he rakes a shaky hand through his head.

Jack knows that what Victor has just said is true; they never have seen eye to eye. But this situation is different. He understands Victor's reaction all to well; he has two daughters of his own. But he also understands it for a different reason - he loves and cares for his team like family; Martin and Danny are like his sons, though he'd never admit it to them or anyone else. Dornvald hurt his boys and was threatening to kill them in less than five hours unless his demands were met and this was like someone was attacking him personally.

Jack sighs and hands Victor a cup of water. "Here, drink this." He watches as Victor shakes his head. "Unless you want me to call an ambulance and have your ass rushed to the hospital I suggest that you drink this," he ordered.

"I'm the Deputy…" Victor sighs angrily.

"I don't care who you are. I'm in charge of this investigation and you do what I say. I won't have you jeopardizing Martin and Danny's lives," Jack said cutting him off. He knows that what he's saying is cold and cruel but it's the only way to get Victor to react.

"Thank you, Jack. But what are we going to do about Martin and Taylor?" Victor said quietly, as he gives in to Jack's will and drinks the water.

"First off, I had Samantha go to the courier service to see if she could find out who took in the ransom video and picture. I also have Jeff Carmichael, my best tech here, trying to see if he can lift any prints from the envelope that the ransom came in," Jack explained.

Victor tries to get up but finds Jack pushing him back onto the couch. "Did they find anything?" he asked; his voice still anxious and fearful.

"Samantha's on her way here right now. She should be here any minute. We have no idea how many accomplices Dornvald has but one of them was positively identified on videotape by the guy at the courier service who he threatened to kill. I'm still waiting to see if Jeff found anything," Jack replied. Hearing someone knocking at the door, he looks up. "Come in," he says more harshly than he meant it to be.

"Jack…I…" Jeff started, but stops when he sees Victor Fitzgerald's disheveled state. "Um…Deputy Director Fitzgerald?"

"What's up, Jeff?" Jack asked, his voice fearful, yet hopeful. "Did you get anything?"

"I lifted several prints off the envelope and I got a hit. I ran the print through NCIC and got a match," Jeff started. He finds a small smile for Jack and hands him the report. "The print belongs to a Michael Ridder. He's been convicted of kidnapping, murder, narcotics, armed robbery, the list goes on. He's also suspected in connection with the kidnapping-homicide of a married couple in Manhattan. We have his last known address and we're ready to move as soon as you give the word."

"Let's go!" Jack yelled as he almost ran out of his office.

"Jack! Stop, it's him! Dornvald's on the line but he says that he'll only talk to you!" one of the tech agents yelled.

Jack spun around and sprinted towards the tech room. "Trace the call!" he shouted as he picked up the phone and barked loudly into it. "Malone!"

"Aah," Dornvald chuckled evilly. "By the tone of your voice I take it you received my little gift."

"What the hell do you want, Dornvald?" Jack yelled.

"You know damn well what I want and you've got less than four hours to give it to me or your agents will die!" Dornvald screamed down the phone.

"How do I even know they're still alive!" Jack yelled back

"So you want proof? Here's your proof!" Dornvald laughed, as put Martin on the phone.

"He…llo?" Martin panted.

"Martin!" Jack exclaimed. His heart begins to beat rapidly as he hears Martin's voice on the phone, because he now knows that at least one of his agents is alive.

"Jack! Jack, Danny's…" Martin stammered, his voice cracking with emotion. But before he can continue, Dornvald rips the phone from him.

"That's enough!" Dornvald yelled at Martin. "There's your proof. You've better get moving, time's almost up!" he chuckles.

"Where's Agent Taylor! How do I know that you haven't already killed him?" Jack said, his voice bitter and filled with venom.

"Jack…I'm…sorry," Danny gasps, as Dornvald slams the phone against his face. His voice is barely more than a whisper, but his words send a cold chill down Jack's spine.

"Danny? Danny, are you okay? Danny, just hold on, son, we're gonna get you out of there!" Jack stammered, panic and fear evident in his voice.

"Jack…I'm…dying!" Danny gasps, as panic and fear take over his voice.

"Damn it, you're not going to die, Danny! Just hold on, son, you're going to be fine. I promise you Danny-boy I am going to get you out of there," Jack says soothingly. But he doesn't know how he kept the fear and panic out of his voice.

"You got what you wanted now give me what I want and you can have your pathetic agents. If you don't, they'll die." Dornvald chuckles down the phone. "Although, I don't know how much longer your Agent Taylor will survive those gunshot wounds."

"Jack! Don't do it! Don't give him what he wants!" Martin yells – hoping Jack can hear him.

"Shut up!" Dornvald yells and stabs Martin in the arm for added affect.

"Jack, don't give him anything! He's gonna kill us! You know that, Jack!" Martin yells to Jack – despite the excruciating pain.

"I told you to shut up! Now he's gonna pay for your big mouth!" Dornvald screamed. He sends a sharp kick to Danny's face and stabs him in the leg. He finds himself laughing, as Danny screams and cries out in pain.

"Nooooo! Danny!" Martin cried out. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you! You killed him!" He lunges toward Dornvald but Dornvald kicks him in the stomach and sends Martin to the ground.

Martin is in unbearable pain but pushes it aside and crawls to Danny's side. He rips Danny's pants leg off and wraps it around Danny's leg and applies pressure to Danny's stab wound, which is now bleeding profusely; causing Danny to holler out in pain and gasp for air.

Tears run freely down Martin's face. He grabs Danny's hand and holds it in a tight brotherhood grip. "You gotta hang on, man!" Martin pleads. He watches Danny shake his head; unable to speak. Martin tightens his grip. "I know it hurts Danny but you gotta hold on for me, man! You're strong, brother. You can do it!"

Danny weakly grips Martin's hand as darkness begins to surround him. He knows he should fight it, but it is so welcoming to be taken away from all the pain and fear. He closes his eyes as he can't fight it any longer.

"Danny, I know you can hear me," Martin pleaded. "Jack's coming for us, Danny. Don't give up. Don't let this bastard beat you. I'm not gonna let you go that easily, now fight!" he whispered into Danny's ear.

"Martin! Danny!" Jack screamed down the phone.

"You should've taught your two lovebirds how to shut up! Now they're paying for Fitzgerald's insolence. He actually thought he could fight me but Taylor paid the price," Dornvald laughs evilly.

"When I get my hands on you I'm gonna rip your fuckin' heart out through your throat and eat it!" Jack screamed at Dornvald – unable to contain his emotions any longer.

"You've got less than four hours to give me what I want or your agents are going to die," Dornvald said coldly. He scoffs and adds. "That's if they don't die sooner. Tick-Tock!" With that he hangs up.

"Son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill him!" Jack yelled. He turns and faces the nervous looking tech agent. "Tell me you traced the call!"

"I'm sorry but he hung up too soon. We only got an approximate location, not the exact location," the tech agent stuttered – afraid of Jack's reaction.

Jack stands quietly; as if in some kind of shock. Suddenly he screams and grabs a hold of the table and flips it over. "Son of a bitch!" he yells as he begins to throw all of the equipment in the room. Victor stood silently - too shocked and distraught to say anything.

"Jack! Jack, calm down!" Jeff yells, forcing himself to react. He grabs Jack and holds on to him.

Jack struggles to get free from Jeff's grip. "Let me go, Jeff!" he yells, as he manages to free himself from Jeff's grasp. He grabs the tech agent by the collar. The tech, scared out of his mind, tries to flee but can't.

Jeff runs to Jack and grabs him from behind – pulling him into a chokehold. He then puts Jack's arms behind his back and cuffs him before he can hurt himself or anyone else.

"Damn it, Jack, calm down! You're gonna kill somebody!" Jeff says gruffly.

"Get these fuckin' cuffs off me, Jeff! I'm gonna kick your sorry ass and those goddamn idiots too. Now we don't know where the hell Dornvald is!" Jack yelled – still irate. He struggles against the cuffs again. "I'm not gonna tell you again, take these goddamn cuffs off!"

"Like hell I am. You can forget it! They're staying on until you calm down! Damn it, Jack! Listen to me!" Jeff yells at the still struggling Jack. He grabs Jack and slams him against the wall; forcing Jack to look at him. "I said listen to me!" Jeff yelled.

Jack huffs at Jeff in anger for slamming him against the wall and cuffing him. He slowly begins to calm down as he realizes what he's doing.

Jeff relaxes slightly as he sees Jack trying to calm down. "That's right, Jack," he sighs, letting out a shaky breath. He takes a deep breath and touches Jack's shoulder soothingly. "Come on, man, just breathe. That's right, man, just calm down."

Jack's breathing becomes more relaxed; he looks up to see all of the agents, including the ones in the bullpen, looking at him in shock and horror. He slides down the wall and onto the floor feeling defeated.

"I'm sorry, Jeff," Jack mumbles as he rests his head on his knees - tears running freely down his face. "I failed them, I should've sent them with backup to transport Teno; instead I sent them alone."

Jeff kneels down in front of Jack – his voice shaking and breaking with emotion. "None of this is your fault, Jack. The only one to blame for all of this is that son of a bitch Dornvald. He's the one who ambushed Danny and Martin; not you," Jeff says as he takes a deep breath and tries to pull himself together. "I swear to you, we're gonna find him and whoever else is working with him and they're gonna regret the day they ever messed with the FBI. They're gonna learn the real meaning of fear and pain. Are you with me, Jack?" he added, anger and determination evident in his voice.

"How the hell are we supposed to find them when we didn't get a damn location?" Jack says angrily.

"We have their location nailed down to a one block radius. That entire block is filled with open businesses except for two warehouses that went under a year and a half ago. We can break into teams and search the warehouses. Jack, those warehouses are supposed to be empty and run down; it's the perfect place to have someone kidnapped. What do you say, Jack?" Jeff said.

Jack holds his head in his knees; he'd failed Danny and Martin. What if his decision to check the warehouses doesn't pan out and it costs Danny and Martin their lives. He couldn't live with himself if that happened. "But…" he stutters, his voice filled with uncertainty and doubt.

"Jack, we only have two and a half hours. What are we gonna do? Are we just gonna sit here or are we gonna get off our asses and go rescue our guys?" Jeff said - only concern and compassion evident in his voice.

Jack looks around the office and every agent in the office and bullpen are nodding to him; as if to say that they are all going on the rescue mission.

"Let's do it!" Jack says as he sighs deeply – his voice full of emotion.

"All right! Now, can I take these cuffs off?" Jeff said as he smiles at his old friend. He frowns when Jack gives him an annoyed look then smiles back. "Do you promise that you're not gonna flip out again? I don't wanna have to cuff you again, Jack or even have you knocked out with some nice sedatives," Jeff said sternly.

"Jeff, I said I promise, now let me go!" Jack says with an irate look on his face.

"All right. Let's go," Jeff says chuckling. He slowly helps Jack to his feet and takes the cuffs off.

Jack rubs his painful wrists. "Next time you do this I'm gonna kick your sorry ass!" he says. Jacks makes a face when Jeff just chuckles at his threats. Taking a deep breath Jack starts giving out orders to the agents. "Let's move!"

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**23.5 HOURS MISSING…**

_**30 MINUTES 'TIL DORNVALD'S DEADLINE…**_

Jack, the other agents and the SWAT team arrive at the scene. Trying to go unnoticed, in case Dornvald is watching, they head into an alley in an unmarked van. The agents and SWAT break up into teams and one team searches one of the warehouses while the other team stays behind with Jack and Jeff.

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"I'll be back. I'm gonna go head out for a pack of smokes," says Michael Ridder – one of Dornvald's goons.

"We don't have time for this shit! We have to get rid of these fucking pigs!" growled one of the goons.

"I said I'll be back! They're not going anywhere!" Ridder yells, as he slams the door shut and leaves the warehouse.

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"Anything!" Jack said down the radio – fear evident in his voice

"No, sir! We checked the entire warehouse and it's empty. There's no one in there, sir," the SWAT leader replied.

"All right. Come on back," Jack sighed wearily.

"Jack, it's him! It's Ridder! He's coming out of that warehouse. I bet that's where Dornvald has Martin and Danny," Jeff said - excitement and nervousness clearly evident in his voice.

"We have a visual on the suspect. Don't move in yet. This one's mine! When I give the word, move in. Remember, Dornvald may have other accomplices and he's armed and extremely dangerous. I want him alive!" Jack says into his radio. "You're with me, Jeff! Let's go!" he says as he and Jeff start to cautiously walk toward Ridder.

As Ridder walks by the alley entrance, Victor and another agent grab him and drag him into the alley. Ridder struggles to get free so he knees the agent in the groin and punches Victor in the face; sending both men to the ground in pain. He flees but doesn't get very far because he's met by a right hook to the face courtesy of Jack Malone; he falls to the ground. Jeff picks him up roughly and slams him against the brick wall.

"Who the hell are you! What the hell do you want?" Ridder says as he groans in pain.

"We know you're working with Dornvald. Now, where the hell are my agents!" Jack says as he tries to control his anger.

Jeff punches Ridder in the chest and ribs; causing him to gasp in pain, when Ridder just smiles at them. "You heard him! Where the hell are our agents!" he yelled.

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you a goddamn thing!" Ridder says, with an evil grin.

Jeff gets pissed off at Ridder's reaction. He takes him off the wall and punches him in the face causing him to fall to the ground; Jack proceeds to kick him in the face, chest and stomach.

"Please, stop!" Ridder cries out in pain.

"Tell me where the hell my agents are or I'm gonna kill you!" Jeff yelled.

"Where the hell is Dornvald! Where the hell are my men! If anything happens to them I'll kill you myself. I'm gonna kill you slowly. You're gonna suffer worse than my men and you're gonna beg me to kill you. This is the last time I'm gonna ask you; Where the hell is Dornvald with my men!" Jack growled as he grabs Ridder by the throat.

Ridder pointed a shaking finger to the empty warehouse. "Him and the others are on the 5th floor. He says he's…gonna kill them even if you give him what he wants," he stutters.

"You said 'others'. Who else is in there with him?" Jack questioned.

"My partner's the only one in there with him but Dornvald has a shitload of guns and explosives," Ridder stammers, as Jack picks him up and slams him against the wall.

"If you're lying to me… you're gonna regret the day you ever fucked with my men. You understand me?" Jack growled. He watches with slight satisfaction as fear enters Ridder's eyes.

"How are my son and the other agent?" Victor growled, venom dripping from his voice.

Jeff slams Ridder against the wall when he doesn't answer. "Answer the question!" he yelled.

"Okay! Your son's pretty beat up and Dornvald stabbed him in the arm for interfering in the phone call earlier; but he's okay…but not for long," Ridder said in a shaky voice, fear clearly evident in his voice.

"What about Taylor!" Jack yelled, unable to contain his anger any longer.

"He's really bad. If he doesn't get help soon he's gonna die. Well…that's if he hasn't died already," Ridder gasped.

"You better pray nothing happens to either of them!" Jack growled, turning to Victor and Agent Trudowhe added. "Get this filthy garbage out of my face!"

"Yes, sir!" Agent Trudow replied.

"But first…" Victor says, as he punches Ridder in the face then kicks him in the groin; sending him to the ground in pain. "That's for my son! But **_I'm_** not finished with you yet."

"Victor!" Jack exclaimed.

"Don't, Jack! Just go save my son and Taylor. Let me deal with this garbage," Victor growled, angrily pointing at Jack. "Go!"

Usually Jack wouldn't take Victor's orders but because this was about Martin and Danny he made an exception. He knows that Victor wants to beat the shit out of Ridder for hurting Martin; he wants to do the same but he knows that saving his boys takes priority right now.

"All right, Victor," Jack sighs. He turns to Jeff, his voice full of fear and uncertainty. "Let's go, Jeff!"

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A huge thanks to fans 1024 and to all of you have taken the time to read and review this fic. It wouldn't be possible without any of your help and encouragement. Again, please R and R if I should continue with the fic.


	4. Chapter 4

Hell's Peak -"Rescue"

Jack and Jeff head towards the FBI agents and SWAT members waiting for them. Jack starts giving out orders, he breaks them into teams; one team covering the back exit, one team the side entrance and the final team with him and Jeff. They cautiously and quietly enter the warehouse looking for Dornvald, his accomplices and any sign of Martin and Danny.

They go room by room searching, but to no avail. When they finally make it up to the 5th floor, they see Dornvald and his accomplice but don't see any sign of Danny and Martin. Jack silently signals to the agents and SWAT to go to either side to block Dornvald from leaving.

A couple of agents and SWAT members stupidly knock over some boxes that are sitting in a corner of the warehouse. Dornvald and his accomplice see them and all hell breaks loose. As Dornvald refuses to get captured by police, he and his accomplice begin to shoot at the teams approaching them. As they begin to shoot their fully automatic guns at the agents, Jack, Jeff and the rest of the agents shoot back.

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**In the room where Danny and Martin are being held…**

Martin begins to hear the gun fight and grabs a hold of Danny protectively.

"You hear that, Danny. That's Jack. I told you he was coming for us," Martin sighs.

Danny has tears streaming down his face and is barely able to breathe because of exhaustion from the blood loss. "It's too late for me, Mar…tin.," Danny says. He swallows as he tries to take a breath. "I'm…dying."

"You're not dying, alright? I won't let you and neither will Jack," Martin says his voice breaking with emotion. He smiles as tears run freely down his face. "You're gonna be okay and soon you'll have all of those hot nurses all around you giving you nice, long sponge baths."

Danny finds a small smile for Martin. "Thanks for being such a good partner and a great friend. I know I didn't deserve it," he stammers breathless, with tears streaming down his face. "Just let me go, Martin. Please! I deserve to die like this!"

"Just shut up, Danny! You don't deserve any of this and neither do I! Alright! Dornvald is the only one who deserves to die." Martin screams out fear and anger. He sees Danny beginning to close his eyes so he grabs Danny's hand in a very tight brotherhood grip - causing Danny's eyes to open wide from the pain. His voice is fearful and cracking with emotion. "Damn it, Danny, stay with me!"

Why does he want me to stay here and fight after the horrible things I've done. I failed him. I failed him and the entire team. I'm a disgrace to the job. It's all my fault that everything went to hell. Please, Martin just let me die! It's the only way to make things right, Danny thought with tears streaming down his face.

"Danny, open your eyes! I know you think you deserve this but you don't. You haven't done a goddamn thing wrong, man. You're a great agent and you're the best friend I've ever had," Martin says crying. He sniffs and continues sternly because he's afraid and is trying to get Danny to react. "Look at me! Jack's already here to rescue us so if you think for a second that I'm gonna let you go then your sorry ass is mistaken! You fight like hell! I don't work with quitters!"

I know that he's just acting tough because he wants me to fight but I know that I'm dying. I'll just make him happy by pretending to fight. It's the last good thing that I can do for him before I die, Danny thought with a smile. "Ok…ay," he says as he smiles at Martin.

"That's it, man. I knew you weren't a quitter," Martin sighs in relief and smiles. But his smile is soon lost as he sees Danny shivering and shuddering. "What's wrong, Danny!" he asks his voice filled with fear and concern.

"I…I'm…c-c-cold, M-Martin. It's s-s-so…c-c-cold," Danny stammers – his teeth chattering.

Martin holds Danny to his chest protectively and rubs his back and arms trying to bring some warmth back into his friend's body as he fights to keep Danny alive. "It's okay, Danny-boy. You're gonna be okay. Jack's on his way here," he reassures. He watches Danny nod his head, indicating that he understands. Oh my God, Jack. Come on, where are you! Danny doesn't have much time, he silently cries.

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During the shoot out Dornvald's accomplice gets shot in the knees by agents and SWAT team members, causing him to hit the floor hard—they apprehend him.

Jeff gets shot by Dornvald—he is hit in the chest and the impact causes him to hit the floor hard and get momentarily knocked out.

"Jeff!" Jack screams, thinking that Jeff is dead. "You son-of-a-bitch!" he yells at Dornvald, not knowing that Jeff is wearing a bulletproof vest.

Jeff begins to stir and starts to cough violently.

"Jeff, are you all right! Jeff, answer me!" Jack yells.

"Yeah, I'm okay, the bullet just hit the vest," Jeff says breathlessly, as he continues to cough violently.

Because Jeff is still dazed from the impact of the gunshot, Dornvald takes advantage of the situation. Dornvald grabs Jeff by his hair and takes him hostage. He puts a gun to Jeff's head.

Dornvald is completely surrounded by agents and SWAT team members but refuses to be taken alive. "You're not taking me out alive!" he yells to Jack. "Call them off or he's going to die right here, right now! Drop your weapons or he dies!" He cocks the gun and presses it against Jeff's head.

The agents fearing for Jeff's life reluctantly give Dornvald some space and back away from him. "Let him go, now! Give yourself up, Dornvald! You're completely surrounded; there's no way in hell you're getting out of here. Drop the goddamn gun now!" Jack yells.

"Move out of my way now!" Dornvald yells as he begins to walk to the exit door of the 5th floor.

"Just shoot him, Jack! Don't let this fuckin' bastard walk out of here, Jack. Forget about me! He has to pay for what he did to Danny and Martin. Damn it, Jack, just do it! Shoot him!" Jeff yells panting - fear evident in his voice although he tries to sound confident.

"Just shut the fuck up, Jeff!" Jack yells out of fear and frustration.

"You should really listen to him," Dornvald laughs, as he makes it out of the door and walks down the hall to make his way downstairs.

"What the hell do you want! Let him go! You're completely surrounded!" Jack yells angrily.

"You choose right now-either I walk out of here or he dies!" Dornvald screams angrily. He's walking backwards and doesn't notice that there's a SWAT team member walking cautiously towards him from behind; Jack does see Jason, the SWAT leader, and decides to 'play along' and make Dornvald think that he's giving up.

"Alright, you wanna leave; you gotta give me what I want. You gotta give me Martin and Danny and you have to let him go," Jack says in a mock defeated tone.

"You can have those pathetic agents of yours but this one stays with me!" Dornvald scoffs.

"You know I can't let you do that. You give me what I want and you can walk out of here. I don't give a damn where you go just give me my agents and no one will follow you," Jack says.

Jeff gives Jack a worried look. "What the hell are you doing, Jack! Shoot the son-of-a- bitch right now! Don't let him get away with what he did to our guys. For all we know they're already dead!" Jeff yells.

"You shut the hell up or I'll kill you right now! I got nothing to lose!" Dornvald yells angrily as he pulls Jeff's hair.

"Just calm down, Jeff and do what he says," Jack says as he continues to 'play along'. He raises his hands and steps backwards.

Jeff begins to realize that Jack is just playing along with Dornvald-that he has a plan in motion. How could he have doubts about Jack, he thought, when he'd known him for ten years and knew that Jack never gave up that easily? "Alright, Jack. I'll do what he says," Jeff says and sends Jack a small, crooked smile.

"Okay, good, that-a-boy," Jack sighs, hoping that he won't draw suspicion from Dornvald, who continues to walk backwards. He looks past Dornvald while still appearing to look at him; he sees Jason and Sean - another SWAT member, closing in on Dornvald with their high-powered submachine guns.

"Stop right there or I'll kill him!" Dornvald yells angrily.

"What the hell did you do with Danny and Martin! Where the hell are they!" Jeff yells at Dornvald.

"Those pathetic excuses for human beings and agents are dead!" Dornvald chuckles evilly.

"Nooooo! Jack, kill the son-of-a-bitch! Kill him goddamnit!" Jeff screams - tears fall freely as he feels his blood boil for the hatred that he feels for Dornvald.

"They never should've meddled in my affairs! I only wanted Paige Hobson!" Dornvald chuckles evilly. "Fitzgerald actually thought he could fight me - he was so weak and pathetic. It was so easy to kill him. I made him suffer first, by watching me kill Taylor. I sliced Taylor's gut like a rotten fish while Fitzgerald screamed and cried like a little girl as we watched Taylor die. Then, after I killed Taylor I moved on to him. He tried to fight me so I sliced his throat," he pauses, smiling evilly, he sadistically licks his lips. "I can still taste his blood on my lips."

Jack felt his blood boil. He couldn't stand hearing Dornvald any longer. He just wanted to kill him. Kill him for hurting and killing his boys. He couldn't believe that he was too late. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat back down as he reminded himself that Jeff was still a hostage.

Jack sees Jason and Sean closing in on Dornvald. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you. But first, I'm gonna make you suffer worse than what you put my men through," he growls through clenched teeth.

Dornvald becomes suspicious of Jack's attitude. First he was being submissive and willing to bend to his will and now he was being defiant toward him. This had to a trap, he thought. While still holding the cocked gun to Jeff's head, he quickly turns around but is too late because he finds himself staring down the barrels of two automatic submachine guns belonging to the SWAT team members.

"Drop the goddamn gun and put your hands on your damn head, now!" Jason says in an eerily calm voice.

"He said drop the goddamn gun now and get your fucking hands off of him before I blow your brains all over the fucking floor!" Sean yells angrily, as he presses the gun to Dornvald's forehead. "Now!" Whilst still holding a gun to Dornvald's head he turns to Jeff. "Hey Jeff, are you all right!"

"Yeah, Sean, I'm okay," Jeff sighs in relief.

Seeing that he's got no where else to go, and doesn't want to get caught, Dornvald throws Jeff to the ground and tries to turn the gun on himself.

"No!" Jason screams. Risking his own life, he struggles and manages to take the gun from Dornvald. "You're not taking the easy way out!" he growls and quickly handcuffs Dornvald, "You're going to pay for what you did to those agents!"

Jack feels his blood boil over and can no longer contain his anger as he lunges toward Dornvald. He was going to personally make sure that Dornvald paid greatly for killing Danny and Martin; for killing his boys.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Jack yells, as he punches Dornvald in the face repeatedly, and then kicks him in the groin, causing him to fall to the floor groaning in pain. He then proceeds to kick him in the face, chest, stomach and ribs causing him to bleed all over the place.

The agents and SWAT look on as Jack beats the shit out of Dornvald but decide not to interfere. Instead, they decide to let Jack make Dornvald pay for killing his men.

"Jack!" Jeff says calmly. He puts a hand on Jack's shoulder and sighs heavily. "Jack stop, you're gonna kill him!"

"He has to pay for killing Danny and Martin! Don't you give a damn about them!" Jack yells at Jeff as he puts a gun to Dornvald's head.

"Of course I give a damn about Danny and Martin! But if you kill him you'll be giving him exactly what he wants. And you won't be any better than him, Jack! You'll be just like him," Jeff says sternly but he is hurt by Jack's words.

Jack knows that what Jeff had just said was true. If he killed Dornvald now it'd be too easy and he'd be just like him. He would lock him away, instead, in a federal prison and made sure that he paid hell for torturing and killing his boys. He unwillingly stops beating Dornvald and takes the gun away from his head.

"Get this filthy shit out of my sight!" Jack says, anger and exhaustion clearly evident in his voice. He watches Jason and Sean take Dornvald into custody and leave the warehouse. He falls to his knees and begins crying; he puts his face in his hands. "They're dead," he cries his voice filled with venom. "This is all my fault. I never should've sent them out without backup. He tortured them and killed them because of me."

"Jack, this isn't your fault! You did what you could to rescue them," Jeff says his voice breaking with emotion. He swallows hard. "They wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"God, Jeff, I can still hear their screams of agony! Martin knew it, he knew that Dornvald was gonna kill them! He told me and I didn't do a goddamn thing about it!" Jack cries as he remembers the phone call – tears continue to fall freely down his face.

"Jack, wait a minute! How do we know the guys are even dead? We haven't even found them yet. Just because Dornvald said that doesn't mean it's true. He probably said it to make you suffer," Jeff gasps, as realization hits him – they haven't actually found Danny and Martin's bodies.

"You really think they're still alive!" Jack says his voice cracking with emotion and hope.

"Yeah, I do! Come on, let's go find them!" Jeff says smiling, as he helps Jack get up from the floor.

"Alright, listen up! We still have two missing agents that are seriously hurt and could be dying. According to the accomplice, Ridder, Danny and Martin are somewhere here on the 5th floor and they're in very bad condition. I want you to search every inch of this place until they are found," Jack says to the agents and SWAT. They disperse and begin to search for Martin and Danny - Jeff and Jack search together. They all begin to call for Danny and Martin.

"Danny! Martin! Where are you!" Jack yells.

"Martin and Danny answer me! Martin! Danny! Just tell us where you're at!" Jeff yells.

Martin and Danny hear someone calling out for them but it sounds so far away. Especially to poor Danny, who is slowly slipping away into complete darkness; away from all the pain and suffering. Martin hears someone calling out for them again. This time he calls out to the voice, since to him it sounds like Jack.

"Jack! Jeff!" Martin yells.

"Martin!" Jack yells back, shocked to he hears Martin's voice.

"Martin, where are you!" Jeff yells, his voice filled with emotion and excitement.

"Jack! Jack, help me!" Martin screams, as he begins to panic. "Jack, please, help me! Danny's dying! Jack, where are you!"

"It's Martin, Jack, he's alive! I told you they were alive!" Jeff says with excitement to Jack. He calls out to Martin. "Martin, where are you!"

"Jack, Jeff, we're over here. Hurry up! Danny's in trouble!" Martin yells, as he begins to bang on the door.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime they finally reached the door that Martin was desperately banging on. "Martin, we're here! Back away from the door now!" Jack yells, as Jeff kicks down the door. "Martin! Oh my God, Martin, I thought you guys were dead!" Jack cries, as he grabs Martin's shoulders – almost overwhelmed with emotion. "Dornvald told us that he killed you!"

"Jack, Danny's dying! He's lost too much blood already!" Martin stutters, his voice breaking with emotion.

"Martin, just calm down! I'm not gonna let anything else happen to either of you! I'm not gonna let Danny die! Now, are you okay?" Jack asks – his voice compassionate but stern.

"Forget about me! It's Danny you gotta worry about, not me! He's dying!" Martin yells angrily.

"Martin, calm down, he's gonna be okay. Why don't you come with me? Let's go get help," Jeff says sternly.

"No, I'm not leaving him!" Martin says, shaking his head, his voice filled with fear.

"Danny? Danny-boy, come on, look at me! Come on, Danny; open your eyes for me!" Jack pleads as he kneels down next to Danny.

"Jack? Jack, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I'm sorry that I failed you!" Danny stutters in a shaking voice, as he opens his eyes a crack – tears stream down his face.

"Shhh! Everything's gonna be okay, son! You didn't do anything wrong! I'm gonna get you outta here! Just calm down," Jack says soothingly, his voice breaking. He runs a gentle hand through Danny's hair.

"No, Jack, please!" Danny cries and shakes his head. "Just let me die! I deserve to die like this!"

"What the hell are you talking about! You don't deserve any of this!" Jack says – shocked by Danny's words.

Danny closes his eyes and whispers as tears run freely down his face. "Just leave me alone, Jack. Let me die like the filthy garbage that I am."

Jack grabs Danny's hand tight, as fear takes a hold of him. He winces as it causes Danny to cry out in pain and open his eyes; he didn't mean to hurt Danny anymore than he was. He just wanted his agent to understand that he deserved to live, that there were a lot of people that loved and cared about him.

"Now, you listen to me! I don't give a damn what you think! This isn't your fault and I'm not gonna let you die so you better get that through your thick ass skull! I'm gonna go get help but you better fight and you better fight hard! I'll kick your sorry ass and bring you back from the grim reaper if you try to die on me!" Jack says firmly to Danny hoping that he will understand. He turns to Martin. "I'm gonna go call for help. Stay here with him and keep him awake; don't let him fall asleep. I'll be right back!" Jack sighs, he doesn't want to leave his injured agents' sides but he knows that if he doesn't get help now Danny's gonna die.

"Jack! What about Dornvald?" Martin asks, his voice filled with fear.

"Don't worry about him. He's gonna get what's coming to him," Jack replies.

"Jack, we have to hurry! Martin, don't worry about Dornvald now, you just stay here with Danny! **_He _**needs you! Let's go, Jack!" Jeff says sternly.

"Thanks Jeff! Go get help, Jack!" Martin says. Once Jack and Jeff leave them, he goes back to Danny's side. "Danny! Danny how are you doing, bro! You okay?"

"Oh God! Danny! Hang on, man. You're gonna be okay," Martin cries as Danny starts to choke on his own blood and begins to lose consciousness. "Don't you fucking die on me!" He turns Danny on his side to stop him from choking on his blood. "Help's on the way, Danny. You can't give up now. Just stay with me. Come on, man, just stay with me," Martin pleads.

"Martin? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have distracted you when we were transporting Adisa Teno. This is all my fault," Danny says, still gasping for air.

"None of this is your fault, Danny. Dornvald's the only one to blame. But we got that son of a bitch," Martin reassures, his voice cracking with emotion.

"Tell the team...I'm sorry for...letting them down," Danny stammers. Why couldn't he breathe? Why was it so cold?

"Damn it, Danny, I already told you this isn't your fault. So stop talking like that, all right! You're gonna make it through this-you've been through a lot worse, alright?" Martin yells out fear and desperation.

"T-Thanks f-for… always having my back… M-Martin," Danny manages to stammer - each shallow breath draining his strength and life from him.

"I'll always have your back, brother," Martin cries, tears streaming down his face.

Danny looks up at Martin and tries to give him a small smile. "Good...Bye...Martin," Danny says barely breathing. He closes his eyes as complete darkness takes over. Danny's head rolls to one side as he takes his last breath.

"Danny?" Martin whispers fear evident in his voice. With trembling fingers he checks for a pulse but doesn't find one. "Daneeee! Nooooooo!"

Martin looks up and around as the sound the sirens of the ambulance coming filters into the small room - but it sounds far away… too far away. He lays Danny down on the ground beside him. He lowers his face to Danny's to hear if he's breathing - he isn't. The only thing he sees is blood coming out of Danny's mouth. Unwilling to let his best friend and partner die like this - by Dornvald's hands - he begins CPR.

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A huge to thanks to my beta fans1024 and all of you who have taken the time to R and R this fic. It wouldn't be possible without any of you. I have/had an ending in mind for this fic but now I'm not so sure if I should continue it. Let me know if I should continue it or not.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Martin starts with chest compressions but as he does this blood flows freely from Danny's mouth. Undeterred he carries on and tries to breathe life back into Danny. Martin checks again for a pulse but doesn't find one. He desperately begins the compressions again and once again gives Danny the breath of life. Just as Martin is about to check for signs of life again the paramedics arrive along with Jack and they take over Danny's treatment.

"We need to scoop and run" says the female paramedic to her partner.

"Where are you taking him?" Jack asks, fear evident in his voice.

"St Luke's Hospital", the female paramedic replied.

"No, no, no! Take him to Mt. Sinai. They have the best trauma center", Jack declared. The paramedic agrees to take Danny to Mt. Sinai Trauma Center.

"Sir, please let us do our job!" the female paramedic said – as Martin, although injured and covered in blood himself, refuses to relinquish his hold on Danny.

"Martin, Martin, come on. Let them do their job. Let them help Danny," Jack says, as he pulls Martin to one side.

"He's dead! Danny's dead!" Martin cried. "I'm gonna go kill that son of a bitch!" Martin added yelling.

"Martin, listen to me! You need to go to the hospital and get yourself checked out! Go in the ambulance with Danny," Jack said firmly but with gentle undertones, as he grabbed Martin, shaking him slightly. He was sure that Martin was in some kind of shock.

"He's dead; that son of a bitch killed him," Martin yelled.

"He isn't dead, Martin, the paramedics are working on him," Jack reassured.

The paramedics rush Danny and Martin into the ambulance and to the nearest hospital. When Danny arrives doctors begin to assess his injuries. They find that he has gunshot wounds to both his stomach and shoulder.

"Sir, I need you to stay still", the doctor said sternly. But Martin keeps moving to look towards where Danny is being treated, while the doctor tries to tend to his own injuries.

"We may need to keep you overnight," the doctor warns Martin.

"What? Why!" Martin exclaimed.

"We have to rule out internal injuries and you suffered head injuries with loss of consciousness so I have to order a head CT to rule anything out." the doctor continues in a stern tone, as Martin won't stop moving - even after the doctor holds his face.

Martin pushes the doctor's hand away to look at Danny. "I have to order the tests. Stay here I'll be right back", the doctor said in an annoyed tone as he leaves.

Danny is rushed by on a gurney and Martin stops the doctor who's treating his partner. "How is he?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"He's in critical condition. One of the bullets nicked his intestine and liver and his lungs collapsed, due to his broken ribs, so we had to intubate him. We're taking him up to surgery now, so … excuse me", the doctor explained quickly, as he leaves to prep for Danny's surgery.

_**12 hrs later...**_

Dr. Richard Cassidy enters the waiting room to speak to Danny's colleagues, as Jack and Martin are his emergency contacts, not his family.

Jack stands up looking ragged and as if he'd aged twenty years in just a few hours. "Doc, how's Danny?" he said concern etched in his voice.

"I'm sorry, but, it's not good. Agent Taylor sustained broken ribs, both lungs collapsed, severe internal bleeding; but the most critical injury is to his head. He had a brain hemorrhage and we were able to fix it but he flat lined during the surgery for fifteen minutes," Dr. Cassidy said sympathetically.

"What!" Jack and Martin yelled together.

"We tried all we could to help him...but..." Dr. Cassidy continued.

"But what!" Jack yelled, anger and fear evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry but due to the amount of time his brain was without oxygen and the severity of his injuries, it is my medical opinion and that of my colleagues that...that Agent Taylor isn't going to make it through the night," Dr. Cassidy continued sadly.

Jack and Martin felt as though the air had been sucked out of them.

Martin begins gasping for air; he shakes his head. "No! You're lying!" Martin screamed. He tries to throw himself at the doctor but Jack grabs him and holds him back. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" he screams and gasps for air as he starts to panic.

"Martin calm down!" Jack said sternly, at the still struggling Martin.

"Let me fucking go, Jack!" Martin yelled - hyperventilating. He manages to break free from Jack's grasp. "He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about! Danny isn't dying he's gonna be fine!" Unable to breathe and wanting to get away from the pain, Martin lets complete darkness take over.

Jack sees Martin collapse but doesn't reach him in time and Martin hits the floor hard. "Martin?" Jack says, as he softly taps Martin's cheek to get a response but he doesn't get one.

Dr. Cassidy rushes to Martin's side and checks for a pulse; he finds one – but it is too rapid. He calls for help and they rush Martin on a gurney inside to an empty treatment room-leaving Jack in the waiting room watching in horror. They connect Martin to a heart monitor and a nasal cannula.

"He's tachy at 200. We need to slow down his heart rate or we're gonna lose him!" Dr. Cassidy yelled issuing commands - the monitor beeps faster. "Damn it, he's in v-fib! Give me the paddles and 6mg Adenosine IV push! Move! We're losing him! 300 joules!" He shocks Martin again and finally his heart rate starts to normalize and Martin takes a small breath. "Martin? Martin, can you hear me? Come on, Martin. Open your eyes for me." Dr. Cassidy asked. He frowns when Martin just shakes his head and calls for Danny. "Look at me, Martin." Dr. Cassidy tries again as he flashes a light in Martin's eyes and causes Martin to stir.

Martin tried to push the doctor away – didn't they understand that he had to see Danny? "Leave me alone. I have to see Danny," he said weakly as he tries to get up but Dr. Cassidy pushes him down.

"Martin, listen to me. You're in no condition to go anywhere. We almost lost you just now," Dr. Cassidy said sternly.

"Please? You said that...he isn't gonna make it. I don't want him to be alone if he..." Martin started, but his voice broke with emotion.

"I'm sorry but he's in the ICU and no one..." Dr. Cassidy started gently.

"Please! He's my best friend!" Martin said cutting Dr. Cassidy off. Tears streamed down his face – why did no one understand?

Doctor Cassidy sighs and relents to Martin's plea - it is obvious, by Martin's reaction - his panic attack, how he tried to lash out, the screaming and crying - that his patient is more than a colleague to his patient- he's a great friend.

"Ok, I'll let you be with Agent Taylor...but you'll be placed in his room on this gurney. You can't get off of this gurney or I'll take you out of there. We almost lost you. I can't risk it. Understand?"

"Okay," Martin agrees sadly. They move Martin into Danny's ICU room and Dr. Cassidy fills Jack in on the condition of his agents.

Jack sees Doctor Cassidy coming down the corridor towards him and quickly stands up.

"Doctor, how's Martin doing! Where is he!" Jack asked in a shaky voice; concern and fear laced into it.

"We had a close call. Martin's heart rate was too fast and it caused him to go into v-fib. We had to shock him a few times and give him drugs intravenously to get him back," Doctor Cassidy explained as gently as he could.

"So how is he? Where is he now?" Jack asked fearfully.

"When Martin regained consciousness, the first thing he asked was to see Agent Taylor. I tried to tell him that Agent Taylor was in the ICU and wasn't allowed any visitors but he wouldn't take no for an answer," Doctor Cassidy explained.

"So where is he?" Jack asked. He couldn't handle the thought of losing both of his agents.

"He pleaded and cried so I relented. I had him transferred to Agent Taylor's room in the ICU," Doctor Cassidy explained.

"What condition is he in?" Jack questioned – his concern not letting up.

"He's not out of the woods yet; we have to keep him here and monitor his vitals-make sure that there aren't any complications. If all goes well and no further problems arise, he'll be released in a few days." The doctor warned. As if reading Jacks thoughts; "Agent Taylor's condition, I'm afraid, remains the same." Doctor Cassidy said apologetically.

"Thank you", Jack said solemnly. He watches as Doctor Cassidy leaves to see his other patients. He sinks into the waiting room couch; he puts his head in his hands and begins to cry as the events of the past forty eight hours hits him with full force.

Jeff and Sam show up at the hospital to find a distraught and disheveled Jack crying in the waiting room of the hospital. When they find Jack in this state their hearts skip a beat as they think the worst.

"Jack, what's wrong!" Jeff and Sam say together in shaky voices, fear clearly evident.

Jack's too distraught to answer any of their questions so he just ignores Jeff and Sam and continues to cry with his head in his hands.

Jeff kneels in front of Jack as he puts a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, what's wrong…how are Danny and Martin?" Jeff asks, fear still evident in his voice. Jack doesn't answer him so Jeff shakes him roughly hoping to cause him to react. "Jack!" he asks again, more sternly this time.

Jack sniffles as tears stream down his face. "Danny isn't gonna make it. The doctor said that his injuries are too severe. Both of his lungs collapsed because of the broken ribs, he had a brain hemorrhage and severe internal bleeding," he says in a lost tone - his voice breaking with emotion. "They were able to repair the damage… but…" He stops unable to continue.

"But what? What happened, Jack? Tells us now what's going on, Jack. We need to know!" Jeff asks desperately, his voice breaking with fear and emotion.

Jack sniffles again, as he tries to regain his composure but his voice betrays him as it continues to break with emotion. "When the doctors were repairing the damage in the O.R. he…flat lined during the surgery for fifteen minutes," he manages to blurt out. Tears stream down his face as he rakes a shaky hand through his hair.

"What!" Jeff and Sam yell together in shock.

"Dr. Cassidy says that Danny won't make it through the night. Even if by some miracle he makes it there's no telling what condition Danny will be in. He may never wake up and if he does he might stay in a vegetative state," Jack sighs heavily, as tears continue to stream down his weary face.

Jeff gives Jack's shoulder a good tug. He tries to sound confident but fear is still evident in his voice. "Danny's gonna make it, Jack! He's a tough kid; he's not gonna let this bring him down! You'll see!" he reassures.

Sam, shocked by Jack's words, suddenly remembers that Martin isn't in the waiting room. She couldn't understand what was going on. Jeff had already told her that Martin was okay but that Danny was the one in bad condition; so where was Martin, she thought?

"Jack, where's Martin! Jeff said that he looked okay!" Sam asks fearfully. "Where is he!" she yells when Jack doesn't answer her query.

Jack sighs and runs a hand over his weary face. "I'm sorry, Sam. Martin…he completely broke down when Dr. Cassidy was telling us about Danny's condition and collapsed after he tried to attack the doctor," he says compassionately.

"What!" Sam exclaims as more tears stream down her face.

"They rushed him inside and started treating him. His heart rate was too quick and they almost…lost him…" Jack says as gently as possible. But Samantha gasps for air and feels her legs buckle; she begins to fall to the floor but Jeff quickly grabs in her time and prevents her from hitting the floor hard.

"Sam! Sam, calm down! Martin's gonna be fine and so is Danny!" Jeff yells. Samantha's hit by a wave of dizziness and she begins to shake badly so Jeff quickly puts her arm over his shoulder and another around her waist then slowly leads her to a nearby seat.

"Sam, calm down! You didn't even let me finish!" Jack says sternly, but fear and concern are evident in his voice. He sighs heavily before he continues. "He's not dead! They had to give him drugs intravenously and shock him, but they got him back. He's gonna be okay but they're gonna keep him hospitalized for a few days to make sure everything's okay and to make sure there are no other complications."

"Where is he now!" Sam asks in a small shaky voice.

"When he regained consciousness he wanted to see Danny but Dr. Cassidy tried to tell him that Danny was in the ICU and couldn't have any visitors," Jack sighs.

"So, where is he now!" Jeff asks, concern evident in his voice. He was starting to wonder if Martin really was okay.

"You know Martin. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He tried to get up from the bed and go to Danny's side but Dr. Cassidy stopped him. Martin still wouldn't give in and he was starting to lose control again so Dr. Cassidy relented and had Martin transferred to the ICU to be with Danny," Jack says with a small, sad smile.

"Really? He's okay!" Sam says as she sighs in relief.

"Yeah and I know Danny's gonna be okay too. Their too damn stubborn to let Dornvald beat them," Jack chuckles, as he suddenly begins to feel hopeful for the first since this nightmare began.

Samantha gasps as she suddenly remembers that Viv is also in the hospital. "Oh my God, Jack? What about Viv? Did you tell her about Danny and Martin yet?" she exclaims.

Jack sighs heavily as he shakes his head and rubs his tired eyes. "No, I haven't told her. I don't even know how or where to begin," he says tiredly.

"Jack, you have to tell her. She has a right to know. But you have to be careful how you tell her - we don't want her to get any worse after just having major surgery," Jeff says.

"I know and I will tell her," Jack says in a small voice.

"Can we see Danny and Martin?" Sam asks hopefully.

Jack takes Sam's hand and squeezes it. "I'm sorry, Sam, I really am, but they're not allowed visitors in the ICU; at least not tonight. Maybe tomorrow they'll let us see them even if it's just a few minutes," He sighs as he gets up from his seat. "I'm gonna go tell Viv about the boys. Maybe you guys should go home and get some rest."

"No way. I'm not going anywhere!" Sam exclaimed, almost shouting.

"Neither am I. We're a team, Jack! We stick together. We're staying here no matter how long it takes," Jeff adds.

Jack smiles as he thinks about how lucky he is to have such a caring and close-nit team. They are more than just a team, they are family.

"Okay. I'm gonna go see Viv and I'll be back as soon as I can," Jack says smiling. He gently kisses Sam's hand. Jeff grabs Jack hand in a tight brotherhood grip and hugs him. Jack leaves the waiting room and makes his way through the corridors of the hospital and to Viv's room.

------------------------------

**Jack Knocks On Viv's Hospital Room Door…**

"Come in," Marcus says tiredly. He frowns when Jack comes into the room looking disheveled and as if he's aged twenty years. "Jack? Hey…are… you okay?"

"Hello, Marcus. Um…hi Viv. I'm okay," Jack says in a weary voice. He tries to give Viv a small reassuring smile.

Viv looks at Jack and sees past the smile. She sees Jack's eyes red and rimmed with tears. He looks as if he's aged twenty years in just one day. She knows Jack all too well and knows that there is something obviously very terrible happening despite his 'I'm okay' facade.

"What is going on, Jack? Talk to me," Viv says, fear and concern clearly evident in her voice. She frowns with concern when he doesn't answer.

Marcus senses that Jack wants to talk with Vivian alone so he decides to leave; he kisses Viv's hand. "Why don't you two talk, I'll go grab a bite to eat. Alright?" he says, as he leaves the room.

Jack gives Viv a small smile as he sits down in the chair next to her. "So…how are you feeling, Viv? I heard the surgery went well," he sighs, as he tries small talk, trying to avoid the reason he is here - he can't figure out how to tell Viv about Danny and Martin.

"I'm okay, Jack. I have to stay here for a few days but Dr. Bratton says that I'll make a full recovery," Viv replies slightly nervously. She pauses as she looks at the distraught, disheveled, aged looking Jack that is sitting in front of her; he is anything but a shadow of the Jack she knows. Something is definitely wrong and she knows it - no matter how much Jack is trying to hide it.

"What's going on with you, Jack?" she says as she squeezes his hands. She gives him a small, sad smile before continuing. "I know that you're not looking this bad for me," she jokes lightly. But it didn't get the smile she hoped for as Jack puts his head down; looking at the floor. She feels herself begin to panic slightly. "Is it the team? Did something happen?" she says – trying to sound confident but the fear is still evident in her voice.

Jack tries to remain in control but his eyes betray him as tears stream down his weary face. "Viv…there's something…" he says, his voice breaking with emotion. He pauses briefly as he clears his throat, before continuing. "…there's something that I have to tell you but I need you to stay calm. Okay?"

"What happened, Jack?" Viv asks, as she takes a deep breath but fear is still clearly evident in her voice.

Jack lightly squeezes Viv's hand. "We were…working on a case. There was a terrorist group trying to take out a Macabian leader and…anyway…when we were finished with it I had Danny and Martin transport the leader of the group," he stammers. He takes a breath, before he continues – but his voice is already breaking with emotion. "They were at a stop light when a van pulled up in front of them."

"Then…what happened, Jack?" Viv says, fear and panic clearly evident in her voice.

Jack squeezes Viv's hand again and sighs. "I need you to stay calm, okay? Remember, you just had major heart surgery."

"Jack, just tell me already! What the hell happened!" Viv demands, out fear and frustration.

"The back doors of the van flew open and…" he manages to blurt out. He sniffles as tears stream down his face. He pauses as he tries to get himself together to tell Viv the next part. "Some guys came out with guns and started shooting at the boys," he says as gently as possible.

"What! How are they!" Viv gasps, as she begins to cry.

Jack sniffles as he talks sternly to Viv. "Viv, calm down, okay? Just let me finish." He wipes away at the tears falling freely down Viv's face. "Dornvald, the one who orchestrated the ambush, kidnapped Danny and Martin for ransom but…" he continues compassionately. He winces when Viv gasps. "…but it's okay, Viv. Jeff and I with the help of agents and SWAT rescued our boys and we captured Dornvald and his accomplices," he quickly adds.

"But how are they, Jack? Where are they? How bad is it?" Viv says fearfully as tears stream down her face.

"Whoa, whoa, Viv, just calm down. Danny and Martin were brought here to this hospital. They're in the ICU," Jack replies.

"Please, Jack, don't lie to me. What condition are they in?" Viv pleads.

Jack wasn't sure how he was going to answer that question. How could he possibly tell Vivian about Martin and Danny? How could he tell her that Danny, who she loves like a son, will not make it through the night and that Martin, who is also like a son to her, almost died when he heard the news about Danny?

Jack sighs as tears run freely down his face. "Okay…I won't lie to you, Viv, but what I'm about to tell you is not easy so I need you to stay calm," he says in a small shaky voice. He takes both of her hands in his. "Martin…is pretty beat up but he's stable."

"Wait a minute. You said that he's in the ICU. If he's stable why is he there?" Viv asks, she sniffles as she tries to remain calm.

Jack continues to hold Viv's hand in his own. "He's with Danny," he says gently. He looks away briefly as Viv's eyes widen in horror – not knowing if he could tell her about Danny. "Danny…Danny's not doing too well. They repaired the damage that he suffered but during surgery he…"

"Damn it, Jack, just tell me already! What happened!" Viv demands.

"Danny…flat lined during surgery for fifteen minutes but they got him back," Jack continues but his voice is breaking with emotion.

"Oh my God, Jack!" Viv says, as tears stream down her face. "But you say they got him back so he has to be okay. And Martin is okay too."

Jack looks at the floor as he shakes his head. "The doctor told me and Martin in the waiting room that Danny's injuries are too extensive and that he flat lined too long. He… says that Danny…may not…" he manages to say – emotion laced into every word. "…make it through the night."

Viv swallows hard and tries to sound confident as she shakes her head. "That doctor doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't know Danny like we do. Danny's too damn stubborn to let himself die; he's a fighter. You'll see. Danny's gonna make it," she says in a desperate tone.

Jack produces a small, sad smile. "Yeah, he is one stubborn ass guy and he doesn't give up that easily; especially after everything that he's been through in his life," he says thoughtfully.

Viv clears her throat as she tries to regain her composure. "Wait, but what about Martin? Why is he in the ICU? Can Danny have visitors already?" she asks quickly.

Jack shakes his head. "Uh-uh. No. Danny isn't allowed any visitors. When the doctor told us about Danny, Martin completely flipped out. He started yelling, panicking and then he tried to attack the doctor. I tried to grab a hold of him but he got free. He collapsed and hit the floor hard," he says, he winces as he hears Viv gasp in horror but continues. "The doctor rushed him inside and had to give him drugs through IV and shock him a few times but they got him back."

"You lied to me! You told me he was okay! If Martin's okay then why the hell is he in the ICU!" Viv says angrily out of fear and frustration. She feels betrayed and so she takes her hands from his.

"Viv take it easy. When Martin regained consciousness the first thing he did was ask to see Danny and he tried to get off of the gurney," Jack says sternly. "The doctor tried to tell Martin that Danny was in the ICU. But you know Martin?"

Viv's anger evaporates as Jack tells her this. She chuckles lightly for the first time since she learned about the condition of her boys. "He wouldn't have any of it. He wouldn't take no for an answer, right?" she says with a slight smile.

"Nope," Jack says with a smile. "He kept insisting and started crying. He was starting to lose it again so the doctor gave in. He told Martin that he would have him transferred to Danny's ICU room to be with him. He also warned him that if he tried to get off of the bed in the ICU he'd take him out of there. Dr. Cassidy says that Martin's stable but he's gonna keep him under observation for a few days in the ICU to make sure he doesn't have any other complications."

Viv smiles. "I don't care what that doctor says. They are both going to be fine." She sighs before continuing. "Can they have any visitors?"

"Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow; just a couple of minutes," Jack sighs and shakes his head.

"I wanna see them, Jack," Viv says, determination in her voice.

"Viv that's not a good idea and you know it. You just had major surgery. You yourself need to be resting. Besides, I don't think your doctor will allow you to anyway," Jack says gently.

"You let me worry about the doctor. If he doesn't authorize me to see Danny and Martin, I'll sneak out of here on my own and go see them. You know I will, Jack. Those two are like my sons, Jack. I have to see them," Viv says determinedly as she produces a smile.

Jack smiles and takes her hand in his. "I know you'd do that." He sighs and continues. "Alright. I'll talk to Dr. Cassidy and you talk to Dr. Bratton; see if we can find a way for you to see them."

"Jack, what about Sam? How is she doing?" Viv says as she suddenly remembers about Sam.

"Sam's in the waiting room. She almost passed out when she found out about Martin so Jeff stayed with her to keep an eye on her. I'm sure they wanna see you," Jack replies.

"So do I," Viv says with a smile.

"I'm sure they'll be by later. I better go and see if I can find Dr. Cassidy," Jack says as he gets up from the seat and hugs Viv.

"You do that," Viv says. She sighs and looks at Jack, "Jack…they're gonna be okay. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Jack says still hugging Viv as he tries to sound confident. "God I hope they **_will_** be okay. But it just seems like such a long shot." Tears stream down his face as he thinks about what has happened and what might happen. There's a knock on the door and Marcus steps in. Jack sniffles and sighs heavily. "Well, I'm gonna go, okay? I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," Viv says as she smiles and shakes her head.

Marcus stands by the door and is concerned when he sees Jack crying and also notices that Viv's been crying too; her eyes red and her cheeks damp with tears. "Jack? Viv, is everything okay?" he asks, his voice filled with fear and concern. He watches as Viv nods her head.

"Well, I'm gonna get going, Viv. I'll see you later," Jack sniffs. He shakes Marcus' hand. "Thank you, Marcus," he says as he leaves Viv's hospital room.

**_Back In the ICU..._**

"Just press the call button if you need anything at all," The nurse said with a warm sympathetic smile.

"Thank you," Martin replied with a sad smile. He glances over at Danny and can't believe all the machines he's hooked up to. Tubes and wires invading every space in Danny's frail body. He looks around and quietly slips out of bed. He takes a hold of Danny's hand and shudders when he feels how cold it is.

"Hey, Danny, it's me, Martin. The doctors just told us that they don't think you're gonna make it," Martin started, he feels himself breaking down again. "You have to fight, Danny. You can't let Dornvald win. Damn it, man, we've been through worse shit than this. You have to wake up. I know you think that this is all your fault but you're wrong," Martin continued. He squeezes Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip and breaks down. "You've always had my back, Danny. Don't let me down now, brother - fight!" He tightens his grip on Danny's hand as he places his forehead on their hands and cries.

----------------------------

As always, a huge thanks to fans1024 and all of you who have enjoyed this fic. Thanks also for all the reviews. They really do help me a lot. Please R and R if I should continue with the fic.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

He's in a dark place but he isn't in pain and feels at peace but there is something unsettling about this place. In the distance he hears what sounds like crying. He frowns, he doesn't understand – why would someone cry for me, Danny thought. He notices that the voice is filled with pain; someone is hurting for him. He doesn't want to leave this pain-free place but he somehow knows that he should go to the voice. A white light appears, small at first, and he walked toward it. As he did, the pained voice became louder and clearer; he walked through the light and opened his eyes slowly, to find himself in the hospital. He tried to speak but found it impossible because there was something in his throat. He saw Martin holding his hand and crying and his eyes went wild with fright. He wanted to tell Martin that he was okay but he couldn't. Slowly he was able to move his fingers as he tried to get Martin's attention.

Martin frowned, he could have sworn that he felt Danny moving his fingers; but its impossible Dr. Cassidy said that Danny was going to die. He felt the pressure again, but stronger this time. He looks up and sees that Danny's eyes are open.

"Oh my God! Danny?" Martin exclaimed, as tears of relief streamed down his face.

Danny squeezed Martin's fingers again and smiled in relief as tears of happiness run freely down his face. But there is still something that he can't quite put his finger on.

"Danny! Hold on, brother, I'll call for help," Martin said, but his hand didn't leave Danny's. He quickly and repeatedly pressed the nurse call button and the nurse came quickly into the room.

The Nurse quickly runs in and is shocked to see Danny awake. She checks his vitals; they're good, but that can't be right. "I'll g-g-go get Dr. Cassidy up here right away," she stammered and ran out of the room as if just having seen a ghost.

Dr. Cassidy arrived five minutes later and is shocked to see Danny awake and responsive. "Well, this is certainly unexpected and miraculous. We were sure you wouldn't survive the night. You're a hell of a fighter Agent Taylor; you and Martin both," he said, as he continued to check Danny's vitals.

He was confused, what did Martin have to do with it, Danny thought? Realization hit him as he remembered the ambush and the torture and started panicking. Confusion hit him - what happened? The last thing he remembered was thinking that Martin was dead.

'_Oh God! Martin! What happened to you? This is all my fault. You got hurt because of me. I should've had your back!' Danny thought. _He starts to panic as he looks for Martin; the heart monitor starts beeping faster.

"Agent Taylor, I want you to calm down," Dr. Cassidy said sternly.

'_Calm Down! Martin's dead because of me!' Danny thought. _Tears stream down his face_. "No! Martin, I'm so sorry. You died because of me!" _

Martin grabbed Danny's wavering hand. "Danny, cut that out! Calm down!" Martin said firmly. He grabbed Danny's cheek, forcing him look at him — brown eyes lock with blue ones. "Danny look at me, man. I'm right here," Martin reassured, as if reading Danny's thoughts. He continued in a softer tone, "Danny, I'm okay, I'm right here with you, man. We're in the hospital. Calm down, all right. We're okay. We're safe. It's over."

"_Safe?" _Danny thought. He looked around and let Martin's words sink in. He began to calm down and so did the heart monitor.

"That's right, brother, calm down. We're safe," Martin sighed. He smiled and winked at Danny. "It's over man, it's over."

"That's amazing. You were the only one who was able to calm him down. He isn't completely out of the woods yet but after what I've seen: him waking up and responding, no complications so far, panicking and then calming down when you talked to him, I believe he'll make a full recovery," Dr. Cassidy said to Martin.

"Thanks, doc," Martin sighed and smiled in relief.

"It's obvious that you two have a great friendship and he's definitely gonna need your help and support to get through this," Dr. Cassidy continued.

"Whatever he needs, Doctor. So, how long does he have to have that tube in him?" Martin asked. He felt Danny squeezing his hand again and squeezed it back.

"Well, if there aren't anymore complications and the tests reveal that he's able to breathe without the tube we'll put him on a nasal cannula. He'll have to stay in the ICU one week. If all goes well, he'll be moved to a private room and he'll be released in two weeks. So he'll probably have to stay about three weeks in the hospital," Dr. Cassidy explained.

Danny's eyes narrowed in anger at the doctor's orders and he squeezed Martin's hand again angrily.

'_Forget it, Fitz there's no way in hell I'm staying here three weeks_!' Danny thought with an irate expression in his face.

"Sorry, Danny, doctor's orders," Martin chuckled.

'_Traitor!' _Danny ranted.

-----------------------------

**In the ICU room… **

_He's still trapped in the warehouse where Dornvald had him and Martin. In his nightmare he isn't hurt; Dornvald just has his hands bound. Martin, however, is covered in dark red blood and barely moving as Dornvald pulls him up from the floor by his hair. _

_Dornvald signaled to his goons to grab Danny. They untie him but hold on to him._

"_Say goodbye to your little girlfriend, lovebird. This is for meddling in my affairs," Dornvald sneered as he smiled evilly at Danny. He grabbed a knife and slit Martin's throat._

"_Martin! Nooooooo!" Danny screamed. He rushes over to Martin's blood ridden body "Mar…tin!" he cried, with tears streaming down his face._

_Martin suddenly opens his eyes and looks at Danny with an accusing stare. "You let me die, Danny! Why did you distract me at the stop light? This is all your fault, Danny! I'm dead because of you. You killed me," he says, before his eyes close again._

"_No! Martin, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!" Danny stuttered, as tears continue to stream down his face._

Martin's sleep is interrupted by the shrill of the heart monitor and other machines that are connected to Danny's frail body. He saw Danny covered in sweat, shaking, crying and struggling to breathe; but his eyes remain closed. It was obvious to Martin that Danny was trapped in a horrifying nightmare. He shook Danny's shoulders. "Danny! Danny, wake up! Look at me, Danny!" he pleaded desperately. He grabbed Danny's face in his hands. "Damn it, Danny, you're having a nightmare…wake up!"

Danny began to panic as he found that he couldn't breathe; because there's something in his throat that's stopping him from breathing. In the confusion, he put his hands up to his mouth and tried to take out the breathing tube.

Martin saw Danny trying to take out the tube and quickly grabbed his hands forcefully - to prevent Danny from hurting himself further. "Leave the tube alone, Danny, it's helping you breathe. Danny, calm down! Look at me, bro!" he said sternly but with fear still evident in his voice. He grabbed Danny's face and forced Danny to look at him in the eyes; brown eyes locking on to blue ones. "That's right, buddy. Just relax," he said as he takes hold of Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip.

Tears run down Danny's face. "_Martin_, _I'm so sorry. I killed you! I never wanted you to die. I'm…so…sorry!" he silently cried._

"Danny, I'm okay. I'm not dead, bro. I'm right here with you," Martin said as he tried to sound confident, but as the words left his mouth he knew that he had failed. He wet a washcloth with cold water and softly pressed it against Danny's face to cool him down. "You just had a terrible nightmare. It's over, bro. We're in the hospital. Do you remember?"

Danny nodded slowly and gently squeezed Martin's hand. He started to panic as his stomach went into convulsions; causing him to puke. Because he is intubated he began to choke on his vomit. Desperate and unable to breathe, he squeezed Martin's hand several times as he tried to take out the ET tube.

Martin suddenly realizes that Danny is choking and completely freaks out as he doesn't know what to do. He frantically clicks the nurse call button and runs out into the hallway.

"Help! Somebody help me please! My partner's choking on vomit! Please help him!" Martin screamed in a terrified voice. "Don't let him die!"

Janice, the nurse who had spoken to Martin earlier, quickly rushed to Danny's side. She hurried to the crash cart and grabbed some tubing off and attached it to a machine.

"Hey, Martin, calm down! Danny's going to be okay. I have to suction him because the tube's blocked. Now get back into bed and calm down," Janice said sternly. "Okay, Danny, I need you to try to calm down; I'm gonna help you," she said as she turned to Danny. She hooked Danny up to a nasal cannula. "Okay, here we go, Danny." She gently pushed a tube into the breathing tube and began to suction out the vomit that was making Danny choke; causing Danny to cough violently.

"Danny! How is he, Janice? Please tell me!" Martin said in a fearful voice, as tears streamed down his face.

"Calm down, Martin. He's gonna be okay. That happens sometimes. I gave him some sedatives to calm him down and I'll call Dr. Cassidy and tell him what happened. Now, do you wanna tell me what happened?" Janice said, as she gave Martin a small sympathetic smile.

Martin takes a deep breath as he tries to regain his composure. "The heart monitor went crazy and woke me up. When I looked at him he was…crying and…anyway, I guess he was having a nightmare. I calmed him down but then his stomach started convulsing," he managed to say as his voice began to break with emotion. "The next thing I knew…he started choking."

"I think he wants to talk to you," Janice said to Martin, as she watched Danny become restless again as he tried to reach out for Martin.

Martin rushed to Danny's side and took his hand in a brotherhood grip. "I'm here Danny-boy. I'm not going anywhere," he said as he tried to sound confident, but failed again. "Are you okay? Are you feeling better?" Martin watched Danny nod slowly and squeezed his hand. "You really gotta stop scaring the shit out of me, brother," he said as he sighed in relief.

Janice smiled at Danny and Martin. "I'll let you two talk but only for a few minutes and then it's back to bed for the both you. Understand?" she said. She watched the boys nod, before she checked Danny's breathing tube and his vitals to make sure everything's okay. She pulled the covers up to Danny's chest. "All right, honey, I'll be back later to check on you." She softly ruffled Danny's hair as she turned to leave.

"You just call me or anyone of these nurses out here if either of you need anything else. I'm going to go call the doctor and let him know what happened. He may want to run other tests on Danny just to make sure he didn't misplace the tube," Janice said to Martin. She watched Martin's eyes widen in horror and gently squeezed his shoulder. "It's okay. It's just procedure. I'm sure he's fine."

"Thanks for everything, Janice. By the way, I'm sorry that I yelled at you before. I just…I just thought that Danny…" Martin said as he trailed off. He gave Janice a small smile for good measure.

"Don't worry about it. You were just scared. I'll be back later," Janice said as she smiled compassionately. With that she leaves the room.

Martin noticed that Danny's meds were kicking in as he began to fall asleep.

"Time for bed, bro," Martin chuckled as he ruffled Danny's hair lightly and made his way to his own bed where they both sleep peacefully for the rest of the night; neither plagued by nightmares.

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Sorry, I know this is a short chapter but I promise that the next one's longer. Please R and R and let me know whether I should continue it or not. Thanks very much for the reviews. They really help. And as always a huge thanks to fans1024.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

**The Next Morning in the ICU…**

**10:00 AM**

Martin is awoken by Janice, who's come to check on his vitals. He tries to give her a small smile. Quickly he glances at Danny's bed to see how he's doing. But Danny isn't there and he begins to panic. He pushes Janice aside whilst she is checking his blood pressure and heads for Danny's bed.

"What happened to him? Where's Danny?" Martin said in a fearful voice as his voice began to break with emotion. His eyes widen in fear and he yells out of fear. "You said that he was gonna be okay! Where is he!"

"Martin, calm down! You need to get back into bed so I can finish checking your vitals," Janice said in a stern but compassionate voice.

"No! You lied to me! You told me that he was gonna be okay and now he's dead!" Martin said angrily. He sits on Danny's empty bed and puts his hands over his weary face as he cries.

Janice suddenly realizes that Martin is angry and crying because he thinks that Danny is dead. She gently takes his face out of his hands; forcing him to look at her.

She gives Martin a small smile. "Hey, look at me, Martin," she said compassionately. She continued to hold Martin's face in her hands as he tried to turn his face away. "Danny is okay, Martin. He isn't dead. Remember, I told you last night that the doctor probably wanted to run more tests just to make sure that Danny didn't misplace the tube when he tried to take it out." As Martin continued to cry, she tried to reassure him. "Shhh, he's okay, Martin. He was taken down for a CT Scan a little while ago to make sure that everything's okay. He should be back any minute."

Martin shakes his head as tears run freely down his face. "You're lying. I don't believe you. He's dead and you just don't wanna tell me. I'm not a child so stop lying to me," he cried.

Janice sighed, but still held Martin's face in her hands, as he struggled against her. "Listen to me. I'm not lying to you. I would never keep anything like that from you. All right?" she said sternly.

Martin looked at her with a lost yet hopeful look in his eyes. "He's…He's really okay?" he said in a small voice as he shook his head. "He's…really not dead?"

Janice smiled at Martin. "Yes, he's okay. Like I said, he should be back here any minute now from the scan." Martin hugged her as he sighed and cried with relief. She smiled at Martin. "You really care about him don't you?"

Martin smiled at her as tears run freely down his face. "Yeah, he's my partner. He's always watched by back just like I watch his," he sighed. "He's more than a partner, though. He's my best friend. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. When…when I saw that empty bed…I…I thought that Danny…" Martin said as he trailed off.

Janice wiped away at the tears that fell down his weary face. "It's okay, I understand. But you need to calm down because if Dr. Cassidy sees you like this he's gonna have you transferred out of here. I know that you want to stay with Danny, right?" she asked. She watched as Martin nod his head. "So can you stay calm from now on?"

Suddenly the door opens and Danny is wheeled into the room on a gurney. The orderly that brings him carefully put him back on his bed.

"Hey, Danny. Heard you went for a ride. Did you meet any hot nurses along the way?" Martin said as he failed to sound confident. He smiled at Danny; hoping that Danny hadn't noticed the tears that stain his pale face.

Danny saw right through Martin's act. He knew Martin too well and knew when something was wrong. He knew that if everything was okay Martin's face wouldn't be stained with tears.

Danny looked at Martin fearfully; his eyes showing every bit of the emotion that he felt. "_Martin? What's wrong with you? Why are you crying? Please, answer me!"_ Danny said silently. He moved his hand weakly as he tried to reach for Martin.

Martin snagged Danny's hand. "Hey, what's wrong? You need anything?" Martin said in a shaky voice.

Danny weakly touched his face then pointed a wavering hand to Martin's; as he tried to ask him why he was crying.

Martin realized what Danny was trying to ask him. "It's nothing; everything's okay," he said, trying to sound confident.

Danny let go of Martin's hand and made two weak fists. "_Damn it, Martin, stop lying to me!" _he silently said. He weakly punched the bed and gave Martin an irate look. "_Why the hell are you crying?"_

"Okay, I'll tell you," Martin sighed. As he started to tell Danny why he had been crying – not wanting Danny to hurt himself or panic. "Janice came to check up on me and when I didn't see you in your bed…I…I thought that you had…" Martin put his head down and looked to the floor, as the tears he can't hold anymore escape and run freely down his face.

As fast as it came, the anger that Danny felt quickly vanished. "_Oh, Martin, you thought I died didn't you?" _he said silently with emotional eyes. He grabbed Martin's hand and weakly tugged it until Martin looked at him. "_I'm not going anywhere, Martin. We're partners and best friends. We stick together no matter what."_

"Together 'til the end?" Martin said with a smile. He watched Danny wink and nod. He carefully tightened his grip on Danny's hand.

Both men head's shot up, when they heard a knock at the door.

"Good morning, how are our patients today?" Doctor Cassidy said with a warm smile.

"They're doing well, Doctor," Janice said.

Dr. Cassidy walked up to Danny's bed. "Good morning, Agent Taylor. You're a very lucky young man. I just got back all of your tests and they have all come back normal," he said.

"What does that mean, doctor?" Martin said nervously.

"That means that he hasn't suffered any permanent injury. His blood tests also show that he can now breathe on his own," Doctor Cassidy informed with a smile. He turned to look at Danny. Danny looked at him expectantly. "Yes, Agent Taylor, that means that I'm going to take out the breathing tube. Nurse, prepare for the procedure."

He turned to Martin and added. "I'm sorry, Martin but you'll have to be removed from the room momentarily while I extubate him."

"No way! I'm not gonna leave him to go through that alone," Martin said in a determined voice.

Danny began to panic as Dr. Cassidy told Martin that he had to leave the room. He grabbed Doctor Cassidy's hand and begun to shake his head. He frantically struggled to reach Martin; silently pleading for him to stay.

Dr. Cassidy is annoyed and baffled by the bond that his patients share. He didn't want Danny to break down and panic again so he relented and allowed Martin to stay by Danny's side. But he warned Martin that he'd be removed if he interfered anytime during the procedure.

As Doctor Cassidy explained the extubation procedure Danny's eyes widened in fear and he squeezed Martin's hand.

Martin squeezed it back and reassured Danny that he was gonna be okay.

"Okay, here we go, Agent Taylor." Doctor Cassidy said gently. He slowly removed the tape that held the tube. "That's the easy part," he paused briefly. "Okay, when I tell you, I want you to inhale as much air as you can and hold it. Then when I tell you, you exhale. Do you understand?"

Afraid, Danny nodded slowly as Martin reassuringly squeezed his hand.

"Okay. Inhale…and hold it. Okay, now when I tell you to exhale you let it out—Exhale," Doctor Cassidy said gently. Danny exhaled and Dr. Cassidy removed the horrid breathing tube; causing Danny to cough violently as he tried to catch his breath. "Just try to relax, son, it's almost over."

"Almost! I thought that was it. I thought that once you took out the tube it was over," Martin exclaimed, as he glared at Doctor Cassidy.

"No," Dr. Cassidy said, shaking his head. "That was to remove the tube. Now, we have to clear out all the mucus that's trapped in his throat so he can breathe better. The nurse is going to suction him now; but if you want to stay I've got to warn you that it's not going to be easy watch. Are you certain that you want to stay here for that?"

"I'm sure, Doctor. I didn't leave him before and I'm not going to now. I know he'd do the same for me," Martin sighed deeply.

"Very well son," Doctor Cassidy said as he gently squeezed Martin's shoulder. He turned to Danny. "Agent Taylor, the nurse is going to suction you now, okay?"

"Okay, Danny, I'm gonna start. Now, you may feel like gagging and coughing and that's okay but I need you to stay calm, okay," Janice said soothingly. Danny's eyes widened in fear as he nodded and Janice slowly helped him sit upright as she put him on a nasal cannula.

As gently as possible, Janice introduced a suctioning tube into Danny's mouth and into his trachea and began to suction out all of the mucus. As she did this, Danny began to gag, cough and shake violently; causing him to panic as he felt that he couldn't breathe. Tears fall freely down Danny's face. Unable to take anymore pain, he starts to struggle and tries to take away the horrible device from Janice.

Doctor Cassidy and Martin quickly rush to Danny's side to prevent him from hurting himself or Janice. Doctor Cassidy is prepared to sedate Danny but Martin pleads with him not to. Doctor Cassidy, instead, decides to put soft restraints on Danny to restrain him to the bed. Martin held Danny's hand in a tight brotherhood grip with one hand as he continually and gently raked his other hand through Danny's hair as tried to calm him down; Danny, however, just continued to cry helplessly.

After what seemed liked forever, Janice finally finished suctioning Danny; leaving him feeling completely breathless and emotionally drained.

"Shhh, it's over sweetheart. I know it's horrible but it's over now. You won't have to go through that again," Janice said soothingly, as she tried to comfort a still distraught Danny by brushing a hand over his sweaty face. She put an oxygen mask over Danny's nose and mouth then injected a medication into his IV.

"Are you okay? I know that was a hard thing to watch," Janice said to Martin, but Martin is too distraught to answer so he just nods. "Listen, this medication is gonna help him sleep. Also, his throat is gonna be soar for a day or two. He cannot have any water right now—he can only have one or two spoonfuls of ice chips; so give him that if he gets thirsty. Most importantly, don't let him speak." She watches Martin about to break down as his eyes water and lips quiver uncontrollably. She holds his face in her hands. "Hey it's okay, Martin, look at me. Yeah, that was scary as hell, but he's going to be okay; he's going to make it."

"Mar….tin?" Danny said in a raspy, breathless voice, as he tried to force himself to talk.

"Hey, shhh. Don't try to talk. Just get some sleep, Danny. It's over, brother. It's over," Martin said as his voice began to crack.

The drugs that Janice administered began to take effect as Danny fell asleep; unable to keep his heavy eyes open any longer. Martin smiled with content as he saw Danny finally fall asleep. But he didn't leave Danny's side to go to his bed. Instead, he took a strong hold of Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip and laid his head on Danny's bed – falling asleep.

**Four Hours Later In the ICU…**

"Doctor Cassidy says that you have fifteen minutes with them," Janice said as she pushed Viv's wheelchair in between Danny and Martin's beds.

"Thank you so much," Viv said with a smile.

"If you need anything just ring the call button," Janice said as she left the room.

Martin is still asleep at Danny's side when he hears, what he thinks, sounded like two women talking in the room. He begins to stir and slowly opens his eyes. He looks around the room and is shocked when he sees Viv sitting in a wheelchair across from him.

"Viv! Oh, thank God, you're okay," Martin exclaimed as he gently hugged her.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay? I just found out what happened to you and Danny," Viv said as her voice broke, but she still tried to sound confident.

"I'm…" Martin started as his voice began to crack.

Viv cut him off abruptly. "Don't give me that 'I'm fine' bull, Martin! You almost died. Just let it out, Martin. You can't keep it locked up, Martin. You know that it'll eat you alive if you do," she said in a stern but compassionate voice.

Martin couldn't lie to Viv; she knew him too well. He held his head in his hands as he felt a volcano of emotions erupting. He fell to his knees as he started to cry uncontrollably, as he released all of the pain, fear and anger from the past forty-eight hours.

"That's right, sweetie. Let it out. Let it all out," Viv said, as she gently gathered Martin into a protective motherly embrace. She tried to hide the tears that began to fall down her face, but failed. She gently kissed Martin's head; causing him to cry harder.

"We almost died, Viv! It was horrible. The things Dornvald did to me and Danny. Danny almost died in my arms, Viv!" Martin cried.

Viv held Martin tightly as he continued to cry. It takes a few minutes before Martin is able to take control of his emotions again.

"I'm sorry, Viv, here I am being selfish again. I'm talking about me and I haven't even asked you how you're feeling. You just had surgery for God's sake," Martin sniffed.

"Now, stop that. You don't have a selfish bone in your body. As far as me, I'm feeling okay. I'm a little tired but the doctor says that he repaired the damage and that I'll make a full recovery. So stop making a big deal about my health. I'm more concerned about you and Danny right now," Viv said in a stern but motherly way.

"I'm okay," Martin said in a shaky voice. He looked down as Viv gave him a stern look. "Alright, I'm far from it, but I don't care about me right now. Danny's the one that needs all the support; not me." He got up from the floor and sat on his bed.

"Viv, he blames himself for everything that happened to us—the ambush, the torture, everything," Martin said as his voice started to break again. He looked away again. "When we were trapped in that warehouse he told me…that he deserved everything bad that happened to him."

"He was probably delirious, sweetie. He didn't deserve it and neither did you. But don't you think about that right now," Viv said as she sighed and slowly shook her head. She continued in a slightly bitter tone. "Dornvald's going to pay for what he did to the both of you. You hear me?"

Viv and Martin stay silent for a moment but that silent is cut short by Danny. Danny trapped in another terrifying nightmare – he begins to stir and silently cry. He is drenched in sweat. Suddenly, Danny sits up in bed as he screams and gasps for air.

"Nooo! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Martin!" Danny screamed as he pulled off the oxygen mask, still completely unaware of his surroundings. "I didn't want you to die!"

Martin rushed over to Danny's side as Viv gasped in horror. "Danny!" Martin exclaimed as he grabbed Danny's shoulders and tried to get him to lie down. "Danny, please calm down! You're okay!" he said with panic evident in his voice.

Martin knew that if he didn't get Danny to calm down Danny was going to hurt himself. So reluctantly he restrained Danny with the restraints on the bed. He quickly proceeded to put the oxygen mask back on Danny's face.

Tears run freely down Martin's face. "Damn it, Danny, look at me!" he said. He grabbed Danny's face and forced him to look at him; lost brown eyes lock on to blue ones. Danny recognized Martin and slowly began to calm down. "That's right, bro. Just breathe. Danny, I'm okay. I'm not dead. I'm right here with you and so is Viv."

"I'm sorry, Martin." Danny cried.

"You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You haven't done anything wrong, Danny," Martin said in an emotional voice. He tried to help Danny relax a little more, so he mentioned Viv again. "Hey, look, Viv's here too."

"Viv? You're…you're okay!" Danny said in a hoarse voice as he continued to cry.

Viv tried to get up from the wheelchair but Martin didn't let her. Instead, he moved the wheelchair next to Danny's bed where Viv could reach him.

Viv has tears streaming down her face, as she is shocked by Danny's reaction. She gets up from the wheelchair despite Martin's protests. "Oh, Danny!" she said soothingly as she slowly and carefully kissed him and held his face in her hands; causing Danny to cry out even more. "My sweet Danny-boy. You're safe now. Nobody's ever gonna hurt you again. Shhh, its okay sweetie." He continued to cry for several minutes and Viv refused to relinquish her hold on Danny; holding him like a mother protecting her child.

"What are you…doing here? You just had surgery; you're supposed to be resting," Danny sniffed.

"I told Doctors Britton and Cassidy that I wasn't going to rest until I saw you two. I also told them that I would sneak out and see you boys anyway with or without their authorization. They finally gave up trying to make me rest and said that I could see you two but only for fifteen minutes," Viv said with a shy smile.

Danny looked away from Viv and Martin. "You should go back to your room and rest, Viv. Besides, Martin's the one you need to worry about not me," he said in a lost voice. He paused as tears escaped his eyes once again. "I deserve what happened to me; not Martin."

"You didn't deserve a damn thing, Danny. You didn't deserve to get tortured to the point of death. You've never hurt anyone in your life. All you've ever known is hurt and pain and that is something that no one should **ever** have to go through. You're gonna get through this, sweetie," Viv said, as she wiped the tears from Danny face. Tears fall down her face but she tries to remain strong. "And all of us are gonna be there with you to give you the help, love and support that you need and deserve." She took his face in her hands and gently made him face her; then she gently kissed his forehead.

The door to the room opened and Janice entered. She looked at Viv standing and saw that Danny was once again restrained to the bed. "What is going on here? You're supposed to be in that chair," she said to Viv, she turned to Martin and added. "And what is Danny doing restrained to the bed again?"

"I restrained him again," Martin sighed as he raked a hand through his disheveled hair. Janice gave him a questioning look, so he added. "He woke up screaming and gasping for air. In the confusion he took off the oxygen mask. He wouldn't calm down and I was scared that he was…gonna hurt himself so, I put the restraints back on."

"What made him get so upset? Was it something you said?" Janice said gently.

"I told you that he woke up like that. He's been having nightmares since he came out of it. It's not the first time that's happened," Martin said with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, visiting is over. I'm sorry but times up. You need to go get some rest yourself," Janice said slightly sternly to Viv. She turned to Danny. "Danny? Sweetheart, look at me," she said gently. When he refused to look at her, she turned his face to hers. "I'm gonna go take your friend Vivian back to her room but when I come back, I'm gonna give you something that's going to help you sleep, okay?"

"No! Please, I don't wanna go to sleep! Please, I'll stay calm but don't give me any drugs," Danny exclaimed as he shook his head.

"Shhh, I'll be back," Janice said soothingly. She gently ran a hand through his hair. "Just try to relax, okay?" Danny just nodded as tears soaked his face. She turned to Martin. "Nice work, handling things the way that you did. I know that it wasn't easy for you to restrain him but you did the right thing." She looked at Danny then back at Martin. "You better leave the restraints on for his own safety; even if he asks you to take them off, don't. I'll be right back," she whispered.

"I'll be back to see both of you soon," Viv said to Danny and Martin. Martin hugs her and Janice takes her out of the ICU and back to her room.

"Martin? I…need…some water," Danny said softly.

"I'm sorry, buddy, but you can't have water yet. You can have ice though. Do you want some of that?" Martin said sadly. Danny nodded and Martin grabbed a spoon and gave him two spoonfuls of ice chips. After Danny's finished eating them Martin turns to him and sits on the bed; next to Danny. "Are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Danny said, pretending to be confused. Martin gave him a warning glance. "It's…it's nothing."

"It's not nothing, Danny. You were saying that I was dead; that you didn't want me to die," Martin said gently. He held Danny's hand. "Please, Danny, just talk to me."

Tears fell down Danny's face; he couldn't hide it anymore. "Fine, I'll tell you," he said as he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. "In the nightmare, I…I see Dornvald…cutting your throat with a knife. His goons throw me to the ground next to you. I start screaming and crying for you not die…"

"Keep going, Danny. You have to let it out. Don't let this destroy you, bro. Please," Martin said gently.

Danny nodded slowly before he continued. "You suddenly open…" he paused and swallowed hard, "…open your eyes and you tell me that…" More tears escape, but he forces himself to continue. "…that you're dead because of me…" he started to cry uncontrollably, "…that I killed you because I let you die." Danny continued to cry. "It is my fault. It is my fault that we got ambushed. None of this would've happened if it weren't for me."

Martin blinks back the tears that are streaming down his face; he is completely shocked by Danny's words. He unrestraints Danny and carefully holds him in a protective embrace. "Oh my God, Danny! Why didn't you tell me any of this before? None of this is your fault, Danny. I don't blame you for what happened to us! Is that what you thought?" he said in between tears.

"I thought you blamed me for all of this. Fitzy, if I hadn't of…" Danny started but Martin cut him off abruptly.

"Look at me! I'm gonna keep telling you this until it gets through your thick head. **Dornvald **is the only one to blame for everything; not **you** and not **me**. So stop blaming yourself! Do you understand me?" Martin said sternly, as he took Danny's face in his hands. He cut Danny off again as he started to apologize. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Danny carefully embraced Martin also and cried away all of the anger, pain, fear and guilt he's felt ever since their ordeal began.

And that is how Janice found the two young men; embracing each other like brothers and with tears streaming down their faces. She was gonna interrupt them to give Danny an injection of medication that would help him sleep but decided against it. The best medicine that Danny needed right now was the love and support of his partner and best friend. She quietly left the room - never letting her presence be known.

After a little while both Danny and Martin finally stopped crying and broke the embrace.

"Friends until the end?" Martin sniffed. He offered his hand to Danny.

"Friends until the end." Danny repeated. He took the hand that was offered, in a brotherhood grip.

"I guess we better go to sleep now. But I better put these back on," Martin said as he slowly got up from the bed. He got one of the restraints and was about to restrain Danny again.

"No, please don't put them back on! I won't lose it again, I promise! Please?" Danny said as he pulled his hand away and shook his head.

"I'm sorry but Janice told me to leave them on even if you asked to take them off," Martin sighed sadly. "We just don't want you to hurt yourself, Danny."

Danny stopped resisting as Martin put on one of the restraints. However, when Martin was about to put the second restraint on, Danny gave him a look that caused Martin's heart to shred. Danny looked at Martin with those sad puppy dog eyes and started to tear up again, causing Martin to give in.

"Alright! I'll leave them off," Martin sighed. He freed Danny from the restraint. "But only for now because if you lose control and scare the hell out of me again, I'll call for Janice or whoever's on call to restrain you again and let them give you that tranquilizer."

"I promise. I won't freak out anymore," Danny said with a small smile as he shook his head.

"Now got to bed," Martin said in a mock stern voice. Danny groaned in pain as he tried to lie down. "Easy, just do it slowly." Once Danny was lying down, Martin pulled the covers up to his chest. He slowly ruffled Danny's hair and kissed him on the head – the way he had seen Danny do to his brother after he had gone missing. "Good night, Danny. And remember; if you need anything at all just let me know."

"Thanks for everything, Fitzy. Good night," Danny yawned, as he found a small smile. He closed his eyes and allowed his body to give in to the battle.

Satisfied that Danny really was asleep, Martin went back to his bed and did the same. Both men slept through the night and neither man was plagued by nightmares of the others' death.

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Well, this is it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Please R and R if I should continue with the story. I do thank all of you who have reviewed this fic. The reviews really help; especially considering that this fic was only going to be three chapters long. Anyway, as always, a huge thanks to fans1024 for all of her help.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **A big thank you to all of you who have reviewed this fic. Sorry about the long wait for the update but my computer crashed and I just got it fixed today. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Jack, Jeff and Sam visit the boys in the ICU...**

Jack spoke to Doctor Cassidy and asked him, if he, Samantha and Jeff could see Danny and Martin. Since Danny's condition had stabilized, Dr. Cassidy allowed them to see the boys, but only one at a time for fifteen minutes.

**Jack Enters the Boys' ICU Room…**

Jack slowly walked into the room to find Martin and Danny sleeping. So he decided to sit in the chair and watch them as they slept. A few minutes later, Martin woke from his slumber to see Jack sitting in a chair watching him and Danny.

"Jack? Hey, how did you get in here?" Martin exclaimed.

"Hey, Martin. I talked to Dr. Cassidy and since you guys have stabilized he's letting us visit you but only for a few minutes. It's good to see you awake, son. I'm glad that you're okay. How are you doing?" Jack said as he tried to hide the guilt from his voice. He closed his eyes and paused before continuing. "You scared the hell out of me. Are you feeling better? How's Danny doing? Is he okay?" Jack said nervously.

Their conversation is cut short when Danny awakens in a terrified state from the same nightmare. Jack rushed to Danny's side. "Whoa! Danny, Danny calm down! You're okay," Jack reassured as he ran a hand through Danny's hand in attempt to calm him. "Just breathe; you were just having a nightmare. Come on, just breathe. You're alright, you're in the hospital." Jack said fearful.

"Jack? What are you doing here? Did you get hurt, too?" Danny said in a small lost voice.

"He's been having the same nightmare since he came out of the coma. He keeps seeing Dornvald slit my throat and then I open my eyes and blame him for my death. But after we talked last night I thought they'd stop. I guess I was wrong," Martin sighed sadly.

"This is all my fault. You guys are here because of me. I almost got you killed. I am so sorry," Jack said in a guilt ridden voice, as he sat on Danny's bed and took his hand. But he could no longer hide the feeling of guilt that plagued him as tears began to stream down his face and he began to break down.

"Jack, this isn't your fault. Dornvald is the only son of a bitch to blame for almost killing us. He is the one that tortured and tried to kill us; not you, Jack," Martin said as got out bed and tried to console Jack.

"Yeah, Jack. If anything we owe you our lives. We wouldn't be alive if you hadn't looked for us. You didn't quit looking for us until you got us back," Danny said softly.

Jack looked away feeling too ashamed. He let go of Danny's hand and covered his face with his hands as he cried out in guilt. "Damn it, that's not true!" he cried. "I failed you both. None of this would've ever happened if I had sent you with backup to transport Adisa Teno. And I did give up!" He paused and took a deep breath as he tried to regain his composure. "The last time Dornvald called me about the ransom, I heard you guys screaming. Martin yelled to Dornvald that he was gonna kill him because he killed you. I don't know what happened next because everything went quiet." Jack said softly as tears streamed down his face.

"That's when he stabbed and kicked us because I yelled out to you. Danny went unconscious from the pain even though I tried to keep him awake. I couldn't yell out to you and tell you that we were still alive. I heard what he said to you on the phone; made you think that we were dead. I know you didn't give up so stop saying that you did," Martin said as tears ran down his face as he heard Jack's words of guilt.

"Damn it, but I did give up! I had the techs track the call so we could get a location but I didn't keep Dornvald on the phone long enough so they only got an approximate location. I was sure that you guys were dead and I went completely nuts and tried to choke one of the tech guys and destroyed all the equipment in the room. Jeff slammed me against the wall and cuffed me to calm me down and he told me that you guys weren't dead; that he wasn't gonna let that happen and that he was gonna personally make sure that Dornvald paid for what he did to you. He convinced me to keep looking for you," Jack said bitterly as tears continue to run down his face.

"Oh, God, Jack! You thought we were dead but you still looked for us anyway. Don't you understand that? You didn't give up because you **knew **somewhere deep inside that we were still alive and that we wouldn't let that bastard win no matter what hell he put us through!" Martin said as tears continue to stream down his face. He put a hand on Jack's shoulder, in attempt to console him.

"When we went into that warehouse I still thought you guys were dead and I just wanted to kill Dornvald. One of the damn SWAT guys knocked over a box and they started shooting at us," Jack said as he shook his head.

"Yeah, we heard the shooting. What happened next?" Martin sighed nervously.

"Jeff got shot but luckily it hit the vest. He got up with the wind knocked out of him and Dornvald took him hostage," Jack said calmly, but he found it hard to keep it together as he continued to tell the boys what had happened. "That's when he told me that he had killed you two. He didn't know that there were SWAT guys in back of him so I told Dornvald that he could leave as long as he let go of Jeff. The SWAT guys got him from behind and stopped him from shooting himself. I lost it after Jeff was safe and away from him. I beat the shit out of him and put the gun to head. I was gonna kill him but Jeff stopped me. I should've killed him for what he did to you. Instead, I let him live. I failed both of you." When he finished he hid his face in his hands in shame as he continued to cry. "I could still hear your agonizing screams."

Martin took Jack's face in his face in his hands and forced Jack to look at him, tears streamed down Martin's face. "You didn't fail us, Jack. You continued to look for us even after you thought we were dead. You saved us, Jack. Even after you found us you kept us alive, even though I could tell that you were scared to hell. And you couldn't kill Dornvald because you're not a damn cold blooded killer like him. So, please, stop saying that you failed us, because you've never failed us and you never will," he said.

"I am so sorry. I never wanted you to get hurt and I never meant to give up on you," Jack cried.

Danny had been quietly listening to Martin and Jack's conversation as he tried to gather the strength to talk; as his throat is still soar from the breathing tube. He waved in his hand, in an attempt to get Jack's attention. But Jack, consumed with guilt, didn't notice. Danny continued to wave his hand and finally Jack noticed. He took Danny's hand – not wanting Danny's to hurt himself.

"Jack, you didn't give up on us and you didn't fail us," Danny said softly, he took a breath before he continued. "I remember what you said to me when you found us in the warehouse."

"W-w-what? B-b-but?" Jack exclaimed.

"I told you to let me die because that's what I deserved," Danny sighed as he smiled and slowly nodded his head. "I told you that I failed you. Do you remember what you said to me, Jack?" Jack looked down - feeling too ashamed. Undeterred, Danny continued. "You said that I was gonna be okay; that I didn't do anything wrong and you put your hand on my head when you tried to calm me down."

"That's because it was **my** fault; not yours," Jack said sadly.

"Like you said to me in that warehouse, this isn't your fault so get it through your thick ass skull. You told me to fight hard to stay alive and that you were gonna kick my sorry ass and bring me back from the grim reaper if I tried to die on you," Danny said as he shook his head and smiled. "Well, now I'm telling you, stop blaming yourself or I'll kick your sorry ass until you accept that none of this is your fault."

"But..." Jack started but he soon cut off by Danny.

"But nothing. We don't blame you for a damn thing that happened and neither should you so stop it right now. Jack, we know how much you give a damn about us and that you would never let anyone hurt us; and those who do regret it greatly," Danny said in a serious tone.

"None of this is your fault, Jack. We know how you feel about us and the rest of the team. We're a family, Jack. You're like the father that Danny and I have never had." Martin paused blushed as he felt slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, Victor's alive and well but he's never given a shit about me like you have. The only thing he's ever given a damn about is his damn appearance. You've cared more about me since the first day I joined the team than Victor has my entire life," Martin said bitterly.

"That's right, Jack. You have two sons here whether you like it or not. We're not going anywhere anytime soon. We're gonna keep causing you grief until you go completely bald from worry," Danny chuckled softly. Martin and Jack chuckled loudly for the first time together since whole ordeal had begun.

"How can you two say those things after all the times I've treated you so awful and kept you in the dog house?" Jack chuckled as he wiped the tears from his face.

"Because we know that you care about all of us and that you yell when you're worried or scared because you're afraid that something bad is gonna happen to us. That's what makes you a good boss, a great friend and a wonderful father," Martin said as he smiled. Without thinking, he took a hold of Jack and held him in a tight embrace.

"Oh, come on, let go of me before someone sees us," Jack said in a mock stern tone.

"Hey, don't keep him all for yourself, little brother," Danny said as he slowly sat up and faced Martin. Jack looked at him and chuckled. "What, **Dad**, no hug for me?" He laughed, as Jack carefully embraced him with one arm while still holding Martin with his other arm.

"You two are pain in the ass; but I'm glad that you're okay," Jack said laughing, but he suddenly turned serious. "I know that I've never let it shown but…but I do think of you as…" He cleared his throat and added, "… sons."

"We already knew that, **Dad**," Martin chuckled as tears ran freely down his face. "And you have let it shown by the way that you treat us."

"You two scared the hell out of me. Don't you ever do that to me again! Do I make myself clear?" Jack said seriously as he continued to hold the boys protectively.

"So when can we go back to work and into the field again? Hmm? I'm already tired of being here," Danny joked.

Jack looked at Danny sternly as he broke from the embrace. "Are you out of your mind? You just got out of a coma and you're asking about going back to work? Neither of you will be setting foot in the office anytime soon; until you're both fully recovered. When you get back, you'll be put on desk duty for a while. And you can forget about going into the field alone. From now on you'll both be teamed up with me or somebody from the team but only if and when you get cleared by Doctor Harris," he exclaimed.

"Aww, come on, Jack! You can't be serious!" Danny protested.

"Yeah, Jack, come on. We're not crazy. We don't need to see Lisa," Martin said as he joined Danny in his protest.

"This isn't open for debate. There's always permanent desk duty," Jack said seriously.

"Fine! We'll see Lisa," Danny and Martin exclaimed.

"But only if you see her too," Martin added boldly.

"Geez, you two are worse than my girls. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about not seeing Lisa," Jack sighed. "Van Doran's making it mandatory for everyone involved in your case to go to counseling with Lisa," he groaned.

"Thanks for everything, Jack," Martin said as his voice began to break again.

"Yeah, thanks for everything Jack. Thanks for not giving up on us even when you thought that we were…" Danny said as tears stream down his face. He tried to continue but he couldn't.

Jack pulled Danny and Martin into another protective embrace, as tears continued to run freely down his face. "I'm never gonna give up on you two again. And I'm never gonna let anybody hurt you ever again…my…sons. Whenever you need me I'm always gonna be there for you for the rest of your days and for the rest of mine. And don't worry about Dornvald," he reassured.

At the mention of Dornvald's name the boys tense up and let out a muffled cry. "Shhh, calm down. You won't ever have to be afraid of him or his accomplices because they're paying severely for what they did to you. They'll regret the rest of their miserable lives the day they messed with my team," Jack reassured.

Having never had a father who cared about them, Danny and Martin are moved by Jack's words. They softly elbow each other as they nod to each other and smile; silently agreeing on their next words to Jack. "Thanks…Dad." They say together.

"You're welcome…sons," Jack chuckled as he wiped the tears from his face. Unable to contain it any longer the boys begin to chuckle as tears stain their weary faces.

Jack is still hugging the boys when someone at the door clears their throat. They break the embrace to see Sam and Jeff standing at the door holding on to each other and crying. Apparently they had been listening in on the entire conversation between Jack and the boys.

Tears run down Sam's and Jeff's faces as they wave hello at Jack and the boys and chuckle lightly. "Hi…**Dad**," they said in a lighted hearted tone.

Feeling embarrassed Jack covers his face with his hand as he chuckled. "Oh, brother! Now you see what you two have done. I better go. I'll be back to see you later."

Jeff chuckled as he wiped away his tears. "Hold on, I'll walk you out…Dad," he said in a light hearted mocking tone. They all chuckle at Jeff's comment. "Only one of us can see you guys at a time. Sam, why don't you talk to them and then I'll come by after you're done. Okay?" he said to the boys and Sam.

"Thanks, Jeff. I really appreciate it," Sam said with a smile, as tears continue to run down her face.

"Not a problem. I'll be back in a few minutes when you're done," Jeff said with a smile. He nodded in the direction of the boys and returned the gesture with a smile and a nod. "Come on, Dad. I'll follow you out," he said as he turned to Jack.

"You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Jack said in a mock annoyed voice as he shook his head.

"Nope, not anytime soon. Come on, let's go," Jeff laughed.

Jack chuckled in defeat and they left the room; leaving Sam to talk with the boys.

------------------------------

**Sam's Visit with Martin and Danny…**

Once Jack and Jeff left the room, Sam held Danny and Martin in a protective embrace as she cried.

"I'm so happy that you two are okay. We thought…that you had both…" Sam cried, but she couldn't continue as she broke the embrace and turned away from them both.

"Hey, Shhh, calm down. We're okay. We're not going anywhere," Martin said softly as he turned Sam around and gently hugged her.

Danny smiled but felt sad by the look of guilt on Sam's face. "He's right sweetie, we're not going anywhere. All of you are gonna have Danny and Martin for a long time to come," he said gently. But Sam looked away as she began to cry again and it caused Danny's heart to break as he knows part of what he just said isn't true; she wouldn't have Martin.

"Sam? What's wrong? We already told you that we were okay. Why are you crying? Is there something going on that we don't know about?" Martin said softly, concern laced into his voice.

"No! Everything's okay, really," Sam said nervously, her voice breaking with emotion.

"Then what's going on? Why do you keep looking away from us?" Martin said fearfully.

Danny had been quietly observing Sam as she and Martin talked and could clearly see the guilt she felt about how her relationship with Martin had ended. He gently held Sam's face in his hand as he wiped the tears away. "I know what's wrong with her," he sighed deeply as his voice broke with emotion. His words cause a cold chill to run down Sam's spine. "Sam feels horrible about how things ended between the two of you and how she's been avoiding you lately. She thinks she let you down." Tears ran down Danny's face.

Danny words cause Sam to cry in shame and cover her face as she tried to get out of the room.

Sam tried to run but Martin grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Is that true, Sam?" he said, his voice breaking with emotion. Sam tried to cover her face as she cried but Martin grabbed both of her wrists; refusing to let her hide her true feelings behind her hands. "Look at me, Sam. I said look at me!" he said, a little more forcefully this time when Sam continued to look away. "You don't have anything to feel bad about just because our relationship didn't work out. You and I just…weren't meant to happen, Sweetheart."

"I don't blame you for breaking up with me. If I hadn't of denied our relationship from the beginning…" Sam sobbed.

Martin shook his head as tears ran down his face. "Don't, I know that's what you think but it's not true. Our relationship was complicated from the beginning. "Shhh, I'm not trying to be cruel, Sam, but you and I both know that in the long run it wouldn't have worked out because we both have issues that we haven't gotten past," he reassured.

"I'm so sorry, Martin! I never meant to hurt you! You have to believe me. I…I never wanted to let you down," Sam said, in between the tears. Martin released her wrists as he held her in a protective embrace. "I never would've forgiven myself if you had…"

"Shhh, don't you dare say that to me! None of this is your fault. And you didn't hurt me. The time we spent together were the happiest I've ever been and I'm always gonna remember and treasure that, Sam. Besides, just because our romantic relationship didn't work out, that doesn't mean that we still can't be good friends," Martin said with tears streaming down his face.

"How can we possibly be friends after the horrible way I've treated you since you broke it off?" Sam sobbed.

"We were friends once, Sam and we can be friends again. I know that it'll be hard at first but we can work through it. I'll always be here for you, Sam. Always," Martin managed to say in between the tears.

"I know that I haven't been here for you and I'm sorry. I swear to you that I'll always be here for you from now until the end of my days. I'll never hurt you again," Sam said, not bothering any longer to try and control the tears.

"I already told you that you didn't hurt me. So, what do you say, Sweetheart? Friends for life?" Martin said with a sad smile. Sam smiled sadly at him and nodded and hugged him as she cried. "Shhh, no more tears. No more tears of sadness, guilt or pain; only tears of happiness. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

Danny had been crying silently though out the whole exchange. "Hey, what am I, chopped liver? Stop trying to keep her for yourself. She's mine, too. Come on, baby brother, share the love," he joked as he tried to break the thick tension in the room. His words caused Sam and Martin to laugh out loud for the first time together since this ordeal began.

Sam chuckled; tears stained her face as she kissed Danny on the cheek. "Oh, Danny!"

They all embrace and hold on tight to each other in a protective embrace. However, they hug too tightly; causing Danny to cry out in pain as he clutched his stomach. "Oh my God, Danny! I'm so sorry!" Sam gasped in horror.

"Honey, relax, I'm not going anywhere. Sorry, babe, but you're not getting rid of me that easily," Danny chuckled lightly as he coughed.

"You're not getting rid of me either," Martin said softly with a smile.

"Well…I…um…" Sam said nervously. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Better get out of here before that nurse comes in and kicks me out. I'm sorry boys but time's up.

"Fine, leave us all alone!" Danny and Martin said together in mock anger.

"I promise you both that I'll be back as soon as the doctor allows us to visit for more than fifteen minutes. If you need anything at all, just call me and I'll be here right away. Okay?" Sam laughed, as she hugged and kissed Danny and Martin.

"You got it, babe," Danny said grinning as he wiggled his eyebrows. He threw Sam a kiss and chuckled; causing Sam and Martin to chuckle loudly.

"I guess time really is up," Martin said sadly when he saw Janice at the door looking in.

"Sorry, Honey, but her fifteen minutes are up. You have another visitor that's waiting to come in but after that both of you need to get some rest," Janice said sympathetically. "You can come back tonight or tomorrow, Sweetie, all right?"

Sam nods to Janice. "Well… I better get going. Take care and…I'll be back as soon as I can. Okay?" She said, as she tried to stop her voice from breaking with emotion again.

"Stop crying! No more tears!" Danny and Martin replied light heartily.

"Okay, no more tears. I promise." Sam chuckled as a few more tears escaped. "I'll see you soon?" she said as she turned to Martin.

"You better or I'll come get you myself," Martin said with a smile, as Sam hugged and kissed him. "Bye, baby," he said as his voice trembled slightly.

"Take care, sweetheart," Danny said with a grin as Sam hugged and kissed him.

Sam was about to cry but Janice took a hold of her hand. "Don't worry, sweetie. They're gonna be just fine. Come on," she said in a soothing voice. Sam nodded her head and waved goodbye to Danny and Martin as she and Janice left the room.

-------------------------------

**Jeff's Visit with the Boys…**

After Sam left Jeff entered Danny and Martin's room. Once in the room Jeff carefully and protectively embraced the boys.

"I'm really glad that you guys are okay," Jeff sighed – voice cracking with emotion.

"Thanks to you. We know everything that you did," Danny said, his voice cracking with emotion. Jeff gave them a quizzical look.

"We know that you risked your life to save us even when you weren't certain that we were even still alive," Martin said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"You have nothing to thank me for. I know that you guys would've done the same for me. It's part of the job. We're family; we take care of our own," Jeff said as tears began to fall freely down his face. "So how are you guys feeling?"

Danny and Martin can no longer hold back the tears that have been threatening, as they stream down their faces. "About as good as can be expected. We're just glad to be back," Martin replied sadly.

"But that never would've happened without you or Jack or everyone else. If weren't for all of you, you'd all probably be visiting our graves right now instead," Danny added.

"Don't say that! Shhh! I'm just glad that you're both safe now and away from that freakin' psycho," Jeff exclaimed.

"So, apart from visiting us what else brings you here? I'm not trying to be ungrateful but I know just by looking at you that there's something you have to do but don't know how to do it," Martin said, with a small sad smile.

"He's right, Jeff. You've got guilt written badly all over your face. Come on, Jeff. Just get it over with and do whatever it is they ordered you to do. We don't blame you. We know that if it were up to you would wait until we were out of here," Danny interjected.

Jeff put his head down as his voice broke. "Listen, I'm really sorry that I have to do this but the boys in Washington are breathing down my neck. Um…I have to…interrogate you about everything that happened. Just take your time, guys. If you can't answer the questions just forget it and I'll tell those pricks in Washington to piss off.," he said regretfully.

"We understand, Jeff. You're just doing your job," Danny and Martin said together.

"Are you ready?" Jeff sighed sadly. He watched as the boys nod before continuing in an emotion filled voice. "Um…what's the first thing you remember that happened?"

"We…we were at a stop light transporting Teno, when a blue van pulled…up in front of us," Danny said, as his voice started to break with emotion. Tears streamed down his face as he remembered the ambush as he struggled and failed to continue.

Martin took a protective hold of Danny and continued where Danny left off - tears fall from his eyes. "I honked the horn at the van because the light went green and they still didn't move. As soon as I honked the horn, the back doors flew open and Dornvald and another guy came out and started shooting their guns. I put the car in reverse but lost control after they blew out two of the tires then I slammed into some parked cars. I blacked out briefly."

"Just take your time, okay? Do you remember what happened next?" Jeff said gently.

"I woke up again and got out the car. I started shooting at Dornvald and his men but my gun jammed so they surrounded me with their guns. I couldn't do anything. Dornvald grabbed me and sent his men after Danny. When they were gonna grab him…they yelled out…that they thought he was dead….because he was covered in blood," Martin said as he tried to hold it together, but he felt his grip on his emotions slipping as he started to cry. "I started yelling for Danny and when I tried to run for him, to help him, Dornvald knocked me out cold with the gun and I couldn't help him!"

Jeff, shocked by Martin's account of what happened, took Martin's face in his hands. "Shhh, it's okay. Maybe we should just stop this now," he said gently. "Screw those assholes in Washington!" Jeff said angrily.

"No, I just wanna get this done already, so they'll leave us the hell alone!" Martin said in-between tears. Jeff sadly nodded his head, showing that he understood. "The next thing I remember is Dornvald throwing ice cold water on me and punching me in the face when I wouldn't answer him. He told me that if I didn't tell him where Paige Hobson was he was gonna kill Danny. He…told me…that I had to choose between Danny and her."

"Son of a bitch," Jeff growled. "What happened next; when you wouldn't give him Hobson's location?"

"He threw more water on me after he punched me then he…he grabbed live jumper cables…and put them on my chest; shocking the hell out of me. The fuckin' bastard told me that it could all end right there if I just gave him Paige. I told him to go to hell and he shocked me again; the bastard was laughing the entire time," Martin said in a shaky voice that was riddled with fear.

"What happened next, Martin?" Jeff said in a gentle, quiet voice.

"He lit a cigar and burned my body but I still wouldn't talk-so he told me that I needed some motivation," Martin sobbed. He grabbed Danny's hand tightly. "They threw Danny on the floor and kicked him in the ribs. After that they…"

"They threw me on top of a table and ripped my shirt open. When they saw the gunshot wounds, Dornvald jabbed his fingers into them, and then poured salt. I don't remember anything after that," Danny said through his tears. Jeff squeezed Danny's good shoulder as he cried.

"I grabbed a hold of Danny and wouldn't let him go. Dornvald starting laughing and threw a picture of us. He said that we never should've meddled in his affairs. A while later, he called Jack and when I screamed for Jack not to give him what he wanted, he stabbed me in the arm. When I screamed out to Jack again…he…oh God, Danny. I'm so sorry!" Martin cried.

"Martin, calm down! Everything's okay. You don't have to say anything more," Jeff said gently.

"No! It's all my fault that Danny got hurt! When I screamed to Jack that Dornvald was gonna kill us, he kicked Danny in face and stabbed him! If I never would've opened my stupid, big mouth that never would've happened!" Martin exclaimed.

"Damn it, stop it! You know that's not true! None of this your fault. It was him. He was gonna do it anyway whether or not you screamed. Don't you understand that!" Danny said firmly.

Tears ran down Jeff's face as he tried to regain his composure. "Danny's right, Martin. None of this is your fault. Just calm down, please!" he said gently.

"I can still hear his screams and see his blood on my hands," Martin continued in the same distraught tone. He gasped for air and grabbed his stomach as it began to convulse. He knew what was going to happen, so he let go of Danny's hand and stumbled towards the bathroom; causing Jeff to run after him. Martin got to the bathroom just in time as he lost the contents of his stomach. He fell onto knees crying and vomiting. Jeff, scared out of his mind and not knowing what to do, soothingly ran a hand through Martin's hair and back, as he tried to calm him down.

"Martin? Martin, can you hear me? Jeff! Jeff, how is he! Please tell me!" Danny called out, in a terrified voice.

"Calm down, Danny. He's gonna be okay. Just stay in the bed. We'll be out in just a few," Jeff said soothingly but with fear still evident in his voice. He gave a cup of water to Martin, so he could rinse the horrid taste out of his mouth and then offered him another small cup of water to drink. He wet a washcloth with cold water and wiped Martin's mouth and face with it. "Come on, Buddy. Let's get you back in bed." He carefully put Martin's arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around Martin's waist then slowly led Martin back to his bed. "That's enough, Martin. You don't have to tell me anything else." Jeff said gently.

"No, please, just let me get it all out. If I don't it's gonna eat me up inside. I can't let Dornvald win," Martin said breathlessly. Jeff sadly nodded. "After you guys found us in the warehouse and left to get help, Danny was barely breathing and he kept on telling me that everything was his fault. He started coughing up blood and then about a minute later he smiled and said goodbye to me. He died in my arms and I started screaming. I started CPR but when I did the chest compressions the only thing that came out was blood. He died in my arms!" He inadvertently grabbed the pillow from his bed and smothered his face as he screamed and cried uncontrollably.

Jeff quickly took the pillow away from Martin's face and held Martin in a tight, protective embrace. "Damn it, Martin! That's enough! Shhh, please calm down! It's over, Martin. Danny's here with you, he's not dead. Shhh, Martin. I swear on my life that I'm gonna make that son of a bitch and his accomplices pay for the rest of their fuckin', miserable lives for what they did to you and Danny. They're gonna wish that we **had** killed them in that warehouse. But, please calm down," he said gently as he continued to try and keep his emotions at bay.

Against orders, Danny got out of bed and went to Martin's side. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Fitzy. I never meant to put you through that. Please forgive me," he said, in-between tears, as he hugged Martin.

"I am so sorry for what you guys went through and I'm sorry that we didn't get to you sooner; but I swear that those goddamn bastards are gonna pay hell for what they did to you. We're never gonna let anybody hurt either of you ever again!" Jeff said as tears streamed down his face.

After several minutes passed Jeff and the boys finally stopped crying and broke the embrace.

"Listen, I'm really sorry that I made you go through that," Jeff sniffled.

"It's not your fault. You were following orders," Martin said, exhaustion evident in his voice.

"Yeah, but if anybody tries to ask us again what happened we're not gonna answer anymore damn questions. Let them go to you; you fill them in," Danny sighed wearily. Martin nodded in agreement.

"I better go write up the report and send it to those pricks in Washington. You told me everything that happened so if anybody tries to make you guys talk again, tell them to go to hell then send them on over to me and I'll fix them good. I'm gonna get outta here so you guys can get some sleep. Okay? But if you need anything at all just have somebody here call me and I'll be here as quick as I can. Get some sleep, I'll be back soon," Jeff said wearily and emotionally as he saw the boys yawn. The boys slowly nodded and they gave in to sleep. Content that the boys are fully asleep he smiles and whispered. "You two are going to be okay; I swear to you that no one will hurt you again." With that he smiled and left the room.

**FOUR HOURS LATER**

**Victor Visits Martin…**

Back to his old, cold self again Victor entered Danny and Martin's room to visit Martin as if nothing significant had happened.

"Martin? I'm glad that you're doing well," Victor said emotionless as he shook Martin's hand.

"Thanks…Dad," Martin said through gritted teeth as he tried to keep his anger at bay.

"Well, Son, I'm glad that you're doing fine. I have to get back to Washington right away, but before I leave I just wanted to tell you that there'll be some members of the OPR coming to interrogate you about everything that happened. They wanna make sure that everything was done by the book. They also wanna see…if Malone had any responsibility for what happened to you and Taylor," Victor said in a disinterested, impatient tone as he looked at his watch.

"I knew it! You're trying to go after Jack again when he didn't have a damn thing to do with what happened to me and Danny! Why do you hate him so much! You've been after him since he accepted me on his team. Why don't you just leave him the hell alone! He's never done a damn thing to you!" Martin yelled – no longer able to control his anger.

"How dare you defend him after what he…" Victor yelled. He was about to blame Jack again for what happened to Martin and Danny but Martin cut him off abruptly.

"Don't you dare blame him again! If it weren't for him we wouldn't be alive right now. Besides, he's been more of a father to me, since I joined his team, than you have been my entire life. All you've ever given a damn about is your political career and how things look with your constituents! So, you leave Jack the hell alone and don't you ever try to go after him again; because if you do you can forget that you ever had a son. And you can forget about us talking to anyone from Washington because we already told Jeff Carmichael everything that happened and we're not talking to anyone else. If they wanna find out what the hell happened to us they better get off their asses and talk to Jeff!" Martin said angrily as he fought back the tears that threatened.

"It's better if I leave. I will tell your mother that you're doing well," Victor said angrily through clenched teeth. Without another word to Martin, he left the hospital.

A few minutes after Victor left, Martin could no longer take all the pain and anger that he felt and began to cry.

"Martin? Martin, what's wrong?" Danny asks, as he sees Martin crying.

"Nothing. Everything's okay," Martin said quietly as he tried to pretend that nothing was wrong.

"Everything except for that pisshead father of yours; the high and mighty Victor Fitzgerald," Danny said bitterly.

"Maybe it would've been better if Dornvald **had** killed me. Maybe then, that cold-hearted bastard would give a damn more about me than his damn political career and appearances," Martin said as he began to cry again.

"Don't you dare ever say that again! I never would've forgiven myself if you had died! How dare you say that! You're my best friend and my brother! My family! You fucking selfish bastard!" Danny yelled out of anger, fear and pain. He put his face in his hands and cried.

"Look at me! I'm sorry, okay. I'm so sorry. I didn't say all that because of you, Danny. I said it because of that cold bastard," Martin exclaimed. Feeling guilty about hurting Danny with his remarks, he went to Danny's bed.

"You had no right to say that! I don't know what I'd do if you died, Fitzy! I know that your father may not give a shit about you but I do! We all do! The entire team cares about you; hell the entire NY FBI office cares about you. We're a family, don't you understand that! Damn it, you bastard!" Danny said angrily – still hurt by Martin's words.

Martin hugged Danny protectively and cried as he held Danny. "I do! I swear to God I do! I'm sorry Danny. I know that all of you are my family. I never meant to hurt you, Danny. You have to believe me!" he sobbed.

"Then why the hell did you say it!" Danny cried angrily.

"I was pissed off at Victor. He had the fucking nerve to come over here just to tell me that OPR was gonna come to interrogate us and see if what happened to us was Jack's fault. I got pissed off and told him to leave Jack the hell alone; that he was after Jack because he let me join the team. He was about to blame Jack for what happened to us," Martin said regretfully, his voice full of emotion.

"What did you do?" Danny sobbed.

"I told him that Jack was more of a father to me than he's been my entire life. Then, I told him that if he went after Jack again, that he could forget he ever had a son," Martin sniffed as tears streamed down his face. "That's when he got mad and left without saying anything else; except that he'd tell my mother I'm doing well."

"Miserable, cold-hearted bastard! Even if he doesn't give a damn about you or doesn't show it, don't you ever say that again; that you would be better off dead. Do you understand me, you bastard!" Danny said angrily in between tears.

"Yeah, I understand but…" Martin sniffed, "…but can you stop calling me a bastard?" he chuckled.

Danny chuckled as he hadn't realized that he was calling Martin a bastard. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he said, but he soon turned serious and broke from the embrace and looked at Martin. "You have to promise me, brother… that you're never ever gonna say that or anything else like it, again!" Danny said his voice breaking with emotion, while tears stain his face. "Promise me!"

"I promise you, brother, that you will never hear those words come out of my mouth again. I swear to you," Martin said with tears streaming down his face.

Danny hugged him once again like a brother then kissed him softly on the head. "Good!" he said. After several minutes the crying subsided and they broke the embrace.

"I'm really sorry, Danny. Come on, we better go back to sleep before Janice comes in here and chews our asses off," Martin said in a tired voice. They both chuckle lightly. Danny slowly groans in pain as he tries to lie down in bed. "Easy, bro, just take it easy." He slowly pulls the covers up to Danny's chest and ruffles Danny's hair as he goes off to bed. Both men sleeping contently the rest of the night.

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By the way, my apologies to anyone who doesn't like the Sam/Boys scene. I'm not too happy with it, but I had a major case of writer's block and it was the only thing I could come up with.


	9. Chapter 9:Epilogue

**A/N: **Well, this is the final chapter of this fic and I want to thank all of you who reviewed. Your reviews really helped me a lot even when I wanted to quit writing this fic. I really hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. A huge thanks goes out to my beta and friend fans1024 for all her help. Hope you enjoy this final chapter.

**_Three Weeks Later..._**

"Finally I'm getting out this place. I hate hospitals," Danny said as he took a deep breath and smiled. "But I did love the cute nurses and sponge baths that came with them," he added with a broad smile.

"You're a sick puppy, Taylor," Martin chuckled.

Danny smiled and wagged his eyebrows as he signed his release papers. He had sighed when Dr. Cassidy had told him that someone had to stay with him the first few days – but in all honesty he didn't want to be alone. He had asked Martin to stay with him and he had agreed. Finally he found himself sitting in Martin's car as they drove to his apartment. Danny was still feeling weak from his ordeal so Martin slowly helped him into the elevator of his apartment building and led him to his apartment.

Once in the apartment, Martin lead Danny to the couch; but Danny didn't stay seated for long.

"Come on, Danny, sit down. You already know what Dr. Cassidy said. You need to rest," Martin said, his voice full of concern as he stood next to Danny.

Danny sighed and ran a shaky hand over his face. "I don't need any rest. I've already slept too much." He looked away as his eyes filled with tears. He groaned in pain as he got up from the couch and walked to his window; leaving a concerned Martin watching his every move.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Martin said his voice still full of concern. He walked to where Danny was standing by the window and put a hand on Danny's shoulder causing Danny to flinch defensively trying to protect himself. "Danny, it's okay. It's just me. Martin," he said gently.

Danny didn't feel like he could face Martin so he continued looking out of his window as he talked. "Martin, I…I'm sorry. I know I haven't thanked you for saving my life," Danny said – his voice breaking with emotion.

Martin shook his head and sighed. "Danny, don't. You don't have to thank me for anything. You're my partner and my best friend. I would do it again without question just like I know that you'd do the same for me," he reassured.

Tears ran freely down Danny's face. "None of this would've ever happened if I hadn't of distracted you at that stop light. You would've seen the damn van and would have gotten us the hell outta there. It's my fault Dornvald shot, kidnapped and tortured us," he sobbed.

Martin, disturbed by Danny's words, grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around roughly; forcing Danny to look at him. "Look at me!" he said-his voice shaky and breaking with emotion. But Danny refused to look at him so Martin grabbed his face; forcing Danny to look at him. "Danny, I already told you. None of this is your fault. Dornvald's the psychopath that tortured us; not you so stop blaming yourself already," he said in a compassionate but stern voice.

"I can't stop blaming myself. You almost died because of me, Fitz," Danny said crying. He continued in a slightly bitter tone. "Don't you understand that?" Tears fell freely down his face. "I don't know what I would've done if you had died, Martin," he finished, as he covered his face with his hands as he cried.

Martin put a hand behind Danny's head and gave it a gentle tug as he pulled Danny' face, out of his hands with his other hand; forcing Danny to look at him. "Hey, Bro, I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere," Martin said smiling.

"But Martin…" Danny said crying.

Martin cut him off. "But nothing. Sorry, pal; you're stuck with me til the end," he said as he continued to smile.

"You mean…you still…wanna be my partner?" Danny said shocked as he tried to regain his composure. He gave Martin a small smile for good measure.

"That's right. You're stuck with me. There's no one I'd rather be partnered with than you," Martin said proudly. Danny sniffled as he gave Martin a small smile. With that Martin grabbed Danny and embraced him in a protective, brotherhood hug.

Danny couldn't believe that after the trouble he'd caused, Martin still considered him his best friend. Feeling overwhelmed he began to shake and cry as Martin embraced him in a brotherhood hug.

"Shhh. It's okay, Danny, just let it out. Get rid of all the bad crap you feel inside," Martin soothed as his voice broke with emotion and tears ran down his face. He gently rubbed Danny's head and back; trying to console Danny and get him to stop crying.

Danny raked a shaky breath and looked at Martin feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry like this. I guess…I was…" he stammered but Martin cut him off.

"It's all right and stop apologizing. You have nothing to apologize for," Martin reassured. He smiled as he ruffled Danny's hair a bit; causing Danny to chuckle a bit for the first time since this entire nightmare began. Martin allowed a few minutes to go by in silence while Danny regained his composure; but never once taking his eyes off of Danny. "Feeling better?" he sighed. He watched Danny nod okay before continuing. "Okay. Now let's get you into bed. Come on."

"Okay but first…" Danny said tiredly as he went into his hall closet and looked for some extra pillows and blankets to fix up the sofa bed so Martin could sleep comfortably. Suddenly, as Danny was walking back towards the sofa bed he was hit by a blinding wave of dizziness and nausea; causing him to sway and stumble.

Martin rapidly stepped forward as he noticed Danny swaying and quickly grabbed him to prevent him from falling to the floor.

"Are you okay, Danny?" Martin asked fear and concern laced into his voice. He watched as Danny nodded weakly. "Damn it Danny, Dr. Cassidy told you not to overdo it. You need to be resting."

"I'm fine okay, don't worry. And I'm not overdoing it. I was just trying to make the couch more comfortable for you to sleep on," Danny sighed. He closed his eyes as the dizziness hit him again.

Martin frowned with concern as he watched Danny close his eyes and hold his head in his hands.

"Don't worry about me, Martin. I'm…" Danny panted weakly. He didn't get to finish the statement, as he was hit by another wave of dizziness; causing him to collapse on the floor—but lucky for him Martin was holding on to him so he doesn't hit the floor hard.

Martin felt his heart come out of his chest when Danny collapsed. "Danny? Danny, talk to me," he said fearfully. When he didn't get a response he began to slightly panic. "Come on, man. Look at me. Are you okay?" Martin tapped Danny in the face slightly hard to get Danny to wake up. With trembling fingers Martin fearfully checked to see if Danny had a pulse; he found one but it was too slow.

"Oh shit! Come on, Danny!" he said-now terrified. "Oh, God. Please Danny, don't do this to me again!" he plead as he shook Danny slightly roughly. Out of fear he hit Danny hard on the face causing Danny to stir a bit. "Damn you, Danny! Wake up!" he yelled as tears streamed down his panic-stricken face. "Attaboy Danny. Come on let me see those big puppy dog eyes of yours."

Danny tried to open his eyes a crack but found that he couldn't because his eyes felt as if they'd been glued shut. He groaned in pain as he slowly forced himself to open his eyes. "Mar…tin? What…happened?" he said in a confused, breathless voice.

"You passed out. I'm gonna call for help. I'm gonna call the doctor," Martin said, his voice full of concern as tears continued to stream down his fearful face.

"No! Please, I'm okay, really. I promise! I don't want to go back to the hospital," Danny said in a lost fearful voice, as he grabbed Martin's hand.

"Damn it, Danny, you're not okay! Stop saying that! You just passed out!" Martin yelled out of fear. He sighed heavily as tears streamed down his face. "I…I thought…that you were…dying again."

Danny sighed; shocked by Martin's reaction. "Hey…I'm okay. I'm just really tired, that's all. Please don't call anybody. I promise to do whatever you want and I'll follow Dr. Cassidy's orders to the tee. Please?" he pleaded.

"Are…are you sure you're okay?" Martin said not believing Danny - fear still evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess I just need to rest for a while. Wanna help me get off this floor?" Danny said as he gave Martin a small smile for good measure.

Martin sighed in relief and chuckled. "You **_really_** love to scare the hell out of me, don't you?" He watched Danny slowly nod his head and gave him a big grin. He smiled and ruffled Danny's hair in return.

Martin stepped forward and grabbed Danny's elbow putting it over his shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you get to bed." He slowly and carefully got Danny to his room and settled him into bed. "If you need anything just let me know, okay, bro," Martin said, still watching his friend with concern.

"Martin...thanks for being there for me these past few weeks. I know I didn't deserve it," Danny started in a lost tone.

"What! What are you talking about?" Martin exclaimed - he couldn't believe Danny was still blaming himself.

"It's my fault we got ambushed. If I wouldn't have distracted you..."

"I told you it wasn't your fault, alright? There's nothing we could've done different. So stop blaming yourself," Martin started - cutting Danny off. He scoffed and grinned evilly. "Besides, we got Dornvald and he's paying right now for everything he did to us. Okay?"

"Alright," Danny replied, finding a small smile for Martin. He offered his hand to Martin and Martin took it in a brotherhood grip. "Thanks for everything, Fitz."

"Anytime bro, now go to sleep," Martin replied.

"Okay, mom," Danny replied sarcastically, trying not to laugh but a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Good night," he added, closing his eyes as his eyelids became heavy.

"Good night. Remember, just holler if you need me. I'll be right outside on the couch," Martin reassured.

"Okay. Thanks…Fitz," Danny yawned. He closed his eyes and let his exhausted body give into to sleep.

Martin pulled the covers around Danny's shoulders and went to the living room to get some much needed rest. He knew they weren't fully recovered yet emotionally or physically. But what he did know was that they'd both be there for each other through the good times and surely bad times to come.

The End


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